He made his Metropolitan opera debut as Valentin in 1965 and his farewell as Amonasro in 1997.

Happy 77th birthday bass-baritone James Morris

Happy 73rd birthday tenor Rockwell Blake

On this day in 1970 mezzo Frederica von Stade and soprano Gail Robinson both made their Metropolitan Opera debuts as two of the Genies in Mozart’s Zauberflöte.  Third was mezzo Judith Forst .

Birthday anniversaries of tenor Frederick Jagel (1897)
conductor Jean Morel (1903)
tenor David Poleri (1921)
and baritone Derek Hammond-Stroud (1926).