Cossa was born in
Jessup, Pennsylvania, on May 13, 1935. He studied with Anthony Marlowe in
Detroit, Michigan,
Robert Weede in
Concord, California, and Armen Boyajian in New York City. He made his debut at the
New York City Opera as
Moralès in 1961, and a week later sang
Sharpless with the company. He won the
American Opera Auditions in 1964 and was sent to Italy for debuts at the
Teatro Nuovo in Milan and
Teatro della Pergola in Florence. He made his debut at the
San Francisco Opera in 1967 as Zurga in
Les pêcheurs de perles. His
Metropolitan Opera debut took place on January 30, 1970, as Silvio in
Pagliacci. Other roles there were
Figaro in
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Lescaut in
Manon Lescaut, Marcello in
La bohème, Mercutio in
Roméo et Juliette, Masetto in
Don Giovanni, Valentin in
Faust, Yeletsky in
Pique Dame, Germont in
La traviata, and Albert in
Werther. In 1976 he created the role of David Murphy in the world premiere of
Gian Carlo Menotti's
The Hero with the
Opera Company of Philadelphia. Cossa's left a few notable recordings of his best roles such as Belcore in ''
L'elisir d'amore'' opposite Dame
Joan Sutherland and
Luciano Pavarotti, Achillas in Handel's
Giulio Cesare opposite
Norman Treigle and
Beverly Sills, Nevers in Meyerbeer's
Les Huguenots, again opposite Sutherland,
Martina Arroyo and
Huguette Tourangeau, and the baritone solo part in
Roger Sessions' ''
When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd''. He can also be heard on the Classical Record Library's
A Celebration of Schumann and Schubert with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He sang as soloist with the
New York Philharmonic, the
Boston Symphony, the
Chicago Symphony, the
Israel Philharmonic, and the
National Symphony. He was chosen by
Licia Albanese to be the recipient of the Puccini Foundation's Baccarat Award in 2004, and in 1993 was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great American Singers at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Cossa taught at the
Manhattan School of Music and in 1988 he accepted a position as Professor of Music at the
University of Maryland, College Park, where he became chair of Voice/Opera. He was a National Patron of
Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. Cossa died on October 6, 2024, at the age of 89. ==References==