In Manhattan's Town Hall a few blocks from the Lombardos (see above), an older and more fabled musician was celebrating too. For 74-year-old Léon Rothier, whose bass had boomed through three decades at the Metropolitan Opera, it was just 50 years since his debut at Paris' Comedie Française.
With 1,687 performances in 75 different roles at the Met to think back on (his most famed role: Mephistopheles in Faust), zestful, white-haired Basso Rothier had no fears about his anniversary recital. He was somewhat excited: "All my friends will be there to hear me and I will feel so at home there. My...
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