"I don't know [when or where it will end]. When they are finished, I am finished," he said.

The singer, who recently remarried and had a baby girl, also said that he would perform at a relatively leisurely pace. "The tour is long but I never perform like a rock star night after night. I shall do a maximum of two or three concerts a month," he said.

Pavarotti's opera career ended with a performance of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in March, but he continues to perform in concert. Once known as the "king of the high C's" for his spectacular operatic performances, he has in recent years concentrated on "Three Tenors" events with Plšcido Domingo and Jos_ Carreras and other concerts of arias and popular music. He has sold more than 100 million albums.