On Oct. 6, American baritone Dominic Cossa died at the age of 89.

Born in Jessup, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1935, Cossa studied with Anthony Marlowe in Detroit, Robert Weede in Concord, and Armen Boyajian in New York City.

In 1961, he made his New York City Opera debut as Moralès in “Carmen” and followed that up with Sharpless in “Madama Butterfly.” In 1964 he won the American Opera Auditions and was sent to Italy for debuts at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan and Teatro della Pergola in Florence.

In 1967, he made his San Francisco Opera debut as Zurga in “Les pêcheurs de perles” and followed that up with his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970. With the house, he gave more than 100 performances in a variety of operas including “Pagliacci,” “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” “Manon Lescaut,” “Werther,” “La bohème,” “Roméo et Juliette,” “Don Giovanni,” “Faust,” “Pique Dame,” and “La Traviata.” His final performance with the company came in 1978.

Cossa also performed with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, and the National Symphony.

In total, he sang over 50 roles and made several recordings including “L’Elisir d’Amore” opposite Dame Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” opposite Beverly Sills, and Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots” opposite Sutherland and Martina Arroyo.

In 2004, he was chosen by Licia Albanese to receive the Puccini Foundation’s Baccarat Award and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great American Singers at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

Following his career as a performer, he taught at the Manhattan School of Music and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Here he is in “L’Elisir d’Amore” and “Lucia di Lammermoor:”