Opera Performer Dies Onstage

A performer suffered a fatal heart attack Friday onstage at the Metropolitan Opera House, falling 10 feet from a ladder during an openingnight production.

Tenor Richard Versalle, 63, fell while singing the opening scene in “The Makropulos Case.” He was portraying a clerk named Vitek as he looked through files in a law office.

Versalle landed on his back with his arms outstretched on the stage, after singing the line, “You can only live so long.” The plot of the opera involves an elixir that confers eternal youth.

The curtain was lowered seconds after Versalle collapsed and the performance was canceled a half-hour later.