The gesture was as familiar to Metropolitan Opera audiences as the gold curtain itself: arms flung wide, massive head tilted to the galleries, the barrel-chested man with the thin legs would stand at the conclusion of a great Verdi aria, waiting with a lordly air for the homage due the world's finest dramatic baritone.
Last week, at a performance of Verdi's La Forza del Destino, the first great ovation was reserved for Soprano Renata Tebaldi, making her first Met appearance of the season in the role of Leonora. But in the second act, Baritone...
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