Before long, he was being hailed by audiences and music critics alike as Russia's finest dramatic tenor.
Harold knew by heart a thousand songs, and was willing to sing them all in his dramatic if somewhat nasal tenor.
Luciano Pavarotti heard him and thought he could be a great dramatic tenor.
Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank.
Verdi's Othello is considered by many to be the defining role for the successful dramatic tenor.
Since then, he has gone on to become one of the most prominent dramatic tenors active today.
Starting in 1963, he became one of the Met's principal dramatic tenors.
Many successful dramatic tenors have historically avoided the coveted high C in performance.
Vocally, he is best described as a lyrical and dramatic tenor.
Yet he has an opulent sound that many dramatic tenors would covet.