"The American tenor, today's leading exponent of the heroic-romantic repertoire and a welcome regular at Covent Garden, was originally engaged to sing Turiddu in Cav but the indisposition of Fabio Sartori, the announced Canio in Pag, has prompted him to shoulder that role as well. His two interpretations were a crucible of emotional extremes. The fervent bitterness of Canio's "Vesti la giubba" earned at least one braying bravo over the applause, though it was his climactic descent into murderous insanity that truly stunned."