Opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti has backed down in a row with Italian authorities and agreed to pay £1.6m in back taxes.

According to the Il Messaggero newspaper, the 64-year-old negotiated an agreement to pay the money off in 36 monthly instalments.

The tenor, who is said to be worth up to £300m, had claimed residence in Monte Carlo, arguing that he did not owe tax in Italy.

The Finance Ministry decided that Pavarotti, who owns a flat in Monaco, spends most of his time in his home town of Modena and is therefore liable for Italian tax.

The Italian authorities started investigating the affairs of the singer and other Italian personalties in 1997.

Divorce proceedings

It is thought that Pavarotti is keen to clear up the tax case because it is holding up his long-running divorce case.

Lawyers for Pavarotti and his estranged wife Adua are believed to be arguing over his wealth. As his wife and business manager for 35 years, she is claiming she is entitled to a cut of all the success he now enjoys.

The tenor is hoping to end his marriage so he can wed his 29-year-old former secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, with whom he has been living for several years.

Pavarotti had hoped to marry Nicoletta last year and "enter the year 2000 as man and wife".