His most frequent roles were the Innkeeper in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" (159 times); the henchman Ruiz in Verdi's "Il Trovatore" (141 times), and Gastone in Verdi's "La Traviata", which he played 136 times.
He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1954 as the Simpleton in Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov".
Holds the record for the most performances with the Metropolitan Opera. In 57 seasons with the Met, he appeared 2,928 times. His final performance was as the Emperor Altoum in Puccini's "Turandot" on 28 January 2010.