On March 5, 1964, the tenor made his debut at the Teatro Bellini di Catania in Mule’s “La Zolfara.” That led to his debut at the Teatro alla Scala and Teatro La Fenice. A year later he went on to sing at the Opéra National de Paris alongside Maria Callas in “Norma” and also performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Wiener Staatsoper, and Royal Opera House. After five years of career, he had already racked up 240 performances and had already performed alongside such greats as Birgit Nilsson, Renata Tebaldi, Fiorenza Cossotto, Antonietta Stella, Ruggero Raimondi, Tito Gobbi, and Mirella Freni, among others.

He went on to make his Metropolitan Opera and San Francisco Opera house debuts years later and would go on to perform more than 2000 performances in his 48-year career. Among his signature roles were Cavaradossi in “Tosca,” Radamès in “Aida,” Turiddu in “Cavalleria Rusticana,”  and Pollione in “Norma.”