Baritone Theodore Lambrinos has died at the age of 85 due to the COVID-19 pneumonia complications on March 29 in Brooklyn.

The baritone appeared on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House, and was a regular performer with the New York Grand Opera Company, where he performed roles in such operas as “Nabucco” and “La Bohème,” among others.

Lambrinos was born in Brooklyn on July 25, 1935. He graduated from the from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, and studied voice privately. He later joined the Don Cossack Choir and performed in Off Broadway shows.

Lambrinos made his big Metropolitan Opera debut in 1968 in Wagner‘s “Lohengrin,” which he sang alongside Christa Ludwig. During the same season, he portrayed Don Escamillo in Bizet’s “Carmen” with the company. In 1995 he opened the season at the Metropolitan Opera House in the role of Montano in Verdi‘s “Otello” alongside Plácido Domingo and Renée Fleming.

Theodore Lambrinos subsequently went on to perform in many different countries, including Egypt, India, Thailand, and the Philippines.