Oliver's adaptation of The Duchess of Malfi; as Leukippos in Richard Strauss' Daphne; and as Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld. 1976 – He accepted a position at the Canadian Opera Company. He sang as Fritz in Jacques Offenbach's La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein. 1977 – He sang with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, as the Goro in Madama Butterfly 1977 – He sang with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, as the Holy Fool and Simpleton in Boris Godunov, debuting on October 17, 1977; returning in 17 other roles. 1979–1980 – He made his debut at Glyndebourne in Haydn's La fedeltà premiata. 22 performances including one at the Royal Albert Hall conducted by Bernard Haitink. 1983 – Houston Symphony 1985 – Ariadne auf Naxos at the Metropolitan. 1980–1987 – His career evolved into stage direction. He was the artistic director of the opera studio at the St. Louis Conservatory at the time of his death in 1987. Recordings Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni. Pagliacci / Leoncavallo; The Metropolitan Opera presents (1978) Il crociato in Egitto by Giacomo Meyerbeer, alongside Yvonne Kenny, Felicity Palmer, Rockwell Blake, Justino Díaz. Conducted by Gianfranco Masini The Mother of Us All [sound recording] / music by Virgil Thomson; text by Gertrude Stein (1977). The Met also televised several of his performances, including The Magic Flute in 1979. Personal Atherton died of an HIV related illness in his adoptive home town of St. Louis, Missouri, on November 20, 1987. He is buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama. His obituary was printed in The New York Times on November 24, 1987. Ancestry His paternal ancestors came to Alabama from McLean County, Kentucky. His great-great grandfather, William Atherton died there in 1879. See also List of performers at the Metropolitan Opera, Atherton gave 277 performances between October 17, 1977, and September 27, 1985. References 1943 births American operatic tenors 20th-century American male opera singers Musicians from Montgomery, Alabama Peabody Institute alumni Singers from Alabama Classical musicians from Alabama Artistic directors (music) Peabody Institute faculty Goucher College faculty and staff Towson University faculty Dickinson College faculty 1987 deaths AIDS-related deaths in Missouri American LGBT musicians