He was a baritone singer
born in Montreal, Canada,
to an Italian father, who owned a bicycle shop, and a French-Canadian
mother.While still at high school
he won a prize where he went to study at the Conservatoire Santa Cecilia in
Rome with the renowned baritone
Riccardo Stracciari.When he returned to Canada
he continued to study at the Montreal Conservatoire and the Mannes College of Music.He won several competitions
including "Auditions of the Air" which was sponsored by the
Metropolitan Opera Company.He
made his professional debut in 1954 and over the next 5 years appeared with
many of the acclaimed international opera companies,making his Covent Garden debut in 1960 starring alongside Joan Sutherland in
Verdi's La Traviata.He became a featured performer
in all the world's great opera houses and joined The Met in 1973,
staying with them for 25 seasons and being prominent in their Live From The Met recordings.He teamed up with his son, Gino, in
1987, making opera history by becoming the first father and son to perform
in the same production at The Met, before going on to do many further
performances.His most
acclaimed performance was in the part of Rigoletto and he was often dubbed
"Mr. Rigoletto" as he performed the role over 500 times.A biography written by his wife, Chirstina, used this nickname as the title of the
book.He retired from The Met
in 1998 but still performed and taught, often appearing with his wife who
was an acclaimed pianist.He
died suddenly at his home in Toronto
on 15th July 2000
when he was 75, with his last live performance being given in April
2000.
