NEW YORK (AP) β When Placido Domingo was too ill to sing, Luca Salsi got to perform a rare operatic day-night doubleheader.
The 40-year-old baritone from Parma, Italy, was taking a walk with his wife Saturday when he received a telephone call from Domingo’s son, who asked him if he could get to the Metropolitan Opera to take over as Don Carlo in a performance of Verdi’s “Ernani.”
Salsi had 30 minutes to make the nine-block trip to the Metropolitan Opera, and get in costume. He improvised his way through the performance and received loud applause.
After a break of a few hours, Salsi went back on stage for his scheduled role of the day β Enrico in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
He said Sunday: “For a singer, this is a crazy thing.”
