Paul Plishka

Bass Paul Plishka had an impressive career at New York's Metropolitan Opera, where his appearances stretched over more than 50 years. He also had notable success at European houses, such as La Scala in Milan. His repertory centered on the mainstream of Italian opera, but he recorded various materials, including folk songs of his ancestral Ukrainian home. Many of his performances opposite established opera stars have been reissued on recordings. Even after Plishka retired in the mid-2010s due to hearing problems (he returned for several stints, the last of them in 2018), his recordings continued to appear in reissues; in 2023, he was featured on the album Renata Scotto: A Farewell. Plishka died in his retirement city of Wilmington, North Carolina, on February 3, 2025. By then, his recording catalog included at least 85 items.