Admired as much for his unusual communicative gifts (especially in American English) as for his warm and gentle voice, Sylvan began his career in Boston’s chamber and early music scenes and first became known for his performances in Peter Sellars’s 1980s Mozart stagings. He was a favorite of John Adams, who wrote the song cycle The Wound-Dresser for him, and two of his most famous opera roles were as Chou En-Lai in Nixon in China and the title role in The Death of Klinghoffer. — NPR