Vet singer plays Doctor Grenvil in Met Opera’s ‘Traviata’

Before the first plaintive strains of music are heard in Verdi’s “La Traviata,” a gentleman with long white hair and beard to match takes his seat next to a giant clock at the side of the Metropolitan Opera stage. He will remain in view through much of the opera, a mostly silent presence looming over Violetta as she enacts her tragic story.