Sicilian tenor Salvatore Licitra passes at 43..

Sicilian tenor Salvatore Licitra, whose clarion voice and 11th-hour Metropolitan Opera debut made him an opera star, died today at age 43. His death was reported on his website, and came less than two weeks after he was severely injured in a scooter accident in Italy. According to Italian news reports, he was not wearing a helmet at the time of his accident.

His doctors had told Italian media that it was possible he had lost control of his vehicle after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. Licitra crashed into a wall and sustained severe head and chest injuries before lapsing into a coma. His girlfriend, an unnamed 29-year-old Chinese woman who was also on the scooter at the time of the accident, escaped unharmed.

Born Aug. 10, 1968, in Bern, Switzerland to Sicilian parents, Licitra grew up in Milan. He only began studying singing when he was 18, first at the Music Academy of Parma and at tenor Carlo Bergonzi's vocal school in Busseto. From there, he started singing small roles at regional Italian opera houses.