His international career took off almost immediately, with performances of the Duke of Mantua (Verdiís Rigoletto) at the The Met and of Cavaradossi (Pucciniís Tosca) at Covent Garden in London.
One of the great tenors of the twentieth century, in the earliest years of his career he made the most beautiful sound, with a rare and exquisite pianissimo in high legato passages. After about 1953, he developed a more robust technique to specialise in the heavier rôles such as Don JosÈ in Bizet's Carmen, RadamËs in Verdiís Aida and Canio in Leoncavalloís Pagliacci. This move was not totally successful, however, and vocal problems arose which were never resolved. His distinguished career at the very top of international opera was relatively short-lived.
