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
Frank Porretta next fourteen years, performing such roles as Alfred in "Die Fledermaus", Alfredo in "La traviata", Apollo in "L'Orfeo", Belmonte in "The Abduction from the Seraglio", the Duke of Mantua in "Rigoletto", Edgar Linton in "Wuthering Heights", Frederic in "The Pirates of Penzance", Lucentio in Vittorio Giannini's "The Taming of the Shrew", Jolidon in "The Merry Widow", Luigi in "Il tabarro", Nanki-Poo in "The Mikado", Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly", Ralph Rackstraw in "H.M.S. Pinafore", Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi", Sam Kaplan in "Street Scene", the Sleepwalker in "Louise", Steve in "The Cradle Will Rock", and Vladimir in "Prince Igor" among others. He