* Carlo Cossutta; Tenor Specialized in Verdi, Puccini

Italian tenor Carlo Cossutta, 67, a Verdi and Puccini specialist acclaimed for his singing of heroic roles such as Otello and Samson. A native of Trieste, Cossutta immigrated to Argentina and made his operatic debut at the Teatro Colon there in 1948. He first sang at Covent Garden in London, as the Duke in “Rigoletto,” in 1964. He made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1973 as Pollione in Bellini’s “Norma.” Cossutta sang the title role in Verdi’s “Otello” in major international houses, most notably in the Franco Zeffirelli production at Covent Garden, and later at San Francisco Opera in 1983. On Saturday of liver cancer in the northern Italian city of Udine.