Cossa, Dominic

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Cossa, Dominic

Cossa, Dominic , American baritone and teacher;b. Jessup, Pa., May 13, 1935. He studied at the Univ. of Scranton (B.S. in psychology, 1959), the Univ. of Detroit (M.A., 1961), the Detroit Inst. of Musical Arts, and the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts, his principal vocal mentors being Anthony Marlowe, Robert Weede, and Armen Boyajin. On Oct. 13, 1961, he made his first appearance at the N.Y.C. Opera as Morales in Carmen, and subsequently sang leading baritone roles there. On Jan. 30, 1970, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Silvio, and remained on its roster until 1975; he returned for the 1978–79 season. He also appeared as a guest artist with other U.S. opera companies and in Europe. He taught at the Manhattan School of Music in N.Y. and at the Univ. of Md. Among his best roles were Rossini’s Figaro, Lescaut, Germont, Marcello, Rigoletto, and Dr. Malatesta.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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