With operatic soprano Clamma Dale, he starred as Porgy in the highly successful 1976 Houston Opera production of "Porgy and Bess", the most complete version of the Gershwin opera actually staged up to that time. The complete work was subsequently recorded by the same cast on RCA Victor, and until 1989, when the Glyndebourne production was recorded, was considered the definitive recording of the work. The Houston Opera production eventually transferred to Broadway, where it received nearly unanimous rave reviews.
