MUSIC

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti walked off stage during the third act of Puccini’s “Tosca” Monday night in Pittsburgh after throat problems made his voice crack. The production began 45 minutes late as doctors attended to Pavarotti backstage. He decided to go on, but was forced to end the opera early when his voice cracked on a high note. Pavarotti mumbled “Sorry” and signaled the conductor to start again, but he approached the same note with the same results. “I cannot do it. I am sorry,” he told the audience. He then put his head down and walked off the stage. After a few moments, the curtain fell and the houselights came on. The audience applauded.