Ara Berberian Ara Berberian Ara Berberian (, May 14, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan - February 21, 2005 in Boynton Beach, Florida, ) was an American bass and actor who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and musicals from the early 1960s until his retirement from the stage in 1997. He notably had an 18-year association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, where he gave a total of 334 performances between 1979-1997. He sang over 100 roles during his career, including those of Osmin in Mozart's "Abduction from the Seraglio" and Sparafucile in Verdi's "Rigoletto". Born in Detroit, Berberian
Josephine Lucchese "Rigoletto", Lady Harriet Durham in "Martha", Micaëla in "Carmen", Rosina in "The Barber of Seville", Violetta in "La traviata", and the title role in "Lucia di Lammermoor". In 1925 Lucchese performed Violetta to 's Alfredo at the Academy of Music in the very first performance of the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company. In 1926 she made her debut with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company (PGOC) as Gilda to Millo Picco's Rigoletto. She later became a resident artist with the PGOC from 1929 until the company's bankruptcy in 1932, performing such roles as Konstanze in "The Abduction from the Seraglio", Leïla