Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on March 13 , 2004 for which he received a 12-minute standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini 's Tosca . Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on 13 March 2004 , for which he received a long standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini 's Tosca .