Paul Plishka, a powerful bass with a ready smile and hearty laugh who sang 1,672 performances at the Metropolitan Opera over 51 years, has died. He was 83. Plishka died Monday at a hospice in Wilmington, North Carolina, his wife, Sharon Thomas, said Wednesday. His Met career spanned generations, from a debut as the Monk alongside Renata Tebaldi, Sherrill Milnes and Rosalind Elias in Ponchielli’s “La Gioconda” on Sept. 21, 1967, to Benoit and Alcindoro in Puccini’s “La Bohème” on March 10, 2018.… Continue Reading