He first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 1974, in a secondary role in the company premiere of Death in Venice, which featured Sir Peter Pears.
It was from that theatre that his performances in La rondine (1985) and Die Zauberflöte (1987) were televised via PBS; in 1986, he portrayed the title role of Werther, opposite Susanne Marsee as Charlotte.
He has sung with companies throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, including Robert Wilson's Stuttgart production of Alceste, with Dunja Vejzovic in the name part.
In 1996, at the English National Opera, the tenor sang the difficult part of Baron Descartes in Zimmermann's Die Soldaten.
He has made several recordings, including Musgrave's Mary, Queen of Scots (1979), Handel's Roman Vespers (with Judith Blegen, Benita Valente, Maureen Forrester, and John Cheek, 1985, for RCA), Tippett's A Child of Our Time (with the composer conducting, 1991), Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress (with Jayne West, conducted by Robert Craft, 1993) and Haydn's La cantarina (on Newport Classic, with D'Anna Fortunato, 1994).