Paul Plishka, 1941–2025

The Metropolitan Opera mourns the death of bass Paul Plishka, whose 51-year career with the company spanned a wide repertory in an astounding 88 roles and a total of 1,672 performances—the ninth most of any artist in Met history.

Plishka made his debut as the Monk in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda in 1967 at the age of only 26. As a young artist, he first appeared as supporting characters, but the quality of his singing and dramatic flexibility soon earned him more prominent roles. Plishka’s rich, dark voice eventually led him to the summits of the bass repertory, including such roles as Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the title role of Verdi’s Falstaff (which marked his 25th anniversary with the company), and especially three parts in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov. In that work, he sang both Pimen and Varlaam before moving on to the legendary title role. In 1977, he was part of a major moment in Met history, appearing as Colline in Puccini’s La Bohème (pictured above) in the inaugural Live from the Met telecast. His other major roles included Procida in Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani, Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, and King Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, among numerous others. At the end of his half-century career, Plishka again took up supporting roles. His final Met performance in 2018 was as Benoit and Alcindoro in La Bohème, a pairing he sang a record 152 times.

Plishka’s warmth, kindness, and reliable professionalism endeared him to his colleagues both on and off the stage. The Met offers its sincerest condolences to all his family and friends, but especially to his wife, Sharon Thomas, who is also a member of the Met family, having worked as a stage director for many years.

As Fiesco in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra

As Philip II in Verdi’s Don Carlo

As Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor

As Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, with Luciano Pavarotti

As the title character of Verdi’s Falstaff

As Benoit in Puccini’s La Bohème

Plishka was honored on the Met stage during a performance of Puccini’s Tosca in 2012.