[4] He was offered a contract at the Met, making his debut with the company in October 1959 as the Gypsy in Il trovatore under conductor Fausto Cleva.
He made 250 appearances at the Met between 1959 and 1963, portraying mainly small to mid size roles like Baron Douphol in La traviata, Frank in Die Fledermaus, the Herald in Otello, Jago in Ernani, the Jailer in Tosca, Jim Larkens in La fanciulla del West, Mandarin in Turandot, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Roucher in Andrea Chénier, Schaunard in La bohème, Silvano in Un ballo in maschera, Silvio in Pagliacci, Wagner in Faust, the Wigmaker in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly.
However, he did appear in several performances of one major role at the Met, Figaro in The Barber of Seville opposite Jeanette Scovotti's Rosina.
[5] Reitan was singing the role of the Surgeon in La forza del destino on March 4, 1960, and was on stage with Leonard Warren when the latter collapsed and died during the performance.
[6] Reitan created the leading role of the Roman Soldier in the world premiere of George Thaddeus Jones's Easter television opera Break of Day which was broadcast nationally on ABC on April 3, 1961.