The opera had not been performed at La Scala in 22 years, and controversy ensued after Muti, who was the conductor and who had personally hand-picked Licitra for the role of Manrico, forbade his tenor to sing the traditional, interpolated high C of the 3rd act cabaletta "Di quella pira".

In December he left for Vienna and the Wiener Staatsoper to sing in Tosca, then Manrico in Il trovatore at the Sao Carlos in Lisbon in January 2002 and Alvaro (Forza) in Turin in February.

[citation needed] The Metropolitan Opera followed unexpectedly on 11 May 2002 when he appeared in Tosca, substituting for Luciano Pavarotti, then 66, who had cancelled the performance two hours before curtain time.

He subsequently added the title roles in Andrea Chénier, Ernani, Don Carlos, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, Canio in Pagliacci, Dick in La fanciulla del West, and Luigi in Il tabarro, to his repertoire.

[citation needed] Licitra's final public appearance was a concert performance of Puccini's Tosca with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival on 30 July 2011.

[2] On 27 August 2011, Licitra sustained severe head and chest injuries when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while riding his motor scooter and crashed into a wall in Donnalucata, Scicli, Ragusa Province, Sicily.