When is the last time you sang this opera?

It’s very strange to be here for “Bohème.” Because I sang my first one 30 years ago; it was in March ’90. The last time was in 2012. It was a gala for Covent Garden for the 20th anniversary of meeting Angela [Gheorghiu, the soprano who became his second wife].

But really, my last “Bohème” was 20 years ago. I sang many, many, many “Bohèmes” at the beginning because it’s an opera for young singers about young people — happy and full of hope, joking about terrible things. They discover life, but also death.

And this was also my case. When I was young — I was 29 — my first wife became ill, and she died [in 1994] when I was singing “Bohème.” I was in the hospital and she died there, and one week later, I sang “La Bohème” at La Scala and everyone was in tears, I was crying, and it was impossible to sing the last “Mimì.” Still today, after 30 years, it’s terrible for me, at the end. For example, two days ago, we did the final scene and I was not able to sing the last “Mimì.” I told it to [the conductor, Marco] Armiliato: If you can’t hear the “Mimì,” it’s because in that moment, it’s too difficult for me.

Your Met debut, in 1996, was another moment your real life intersected with the story, but this time more happily: Before the fifth performance, the general manager, Joseph Volpe, announced that you and Ms. Gheorghiu had been married the night before.

That was a matinee, and we followed it that night with the concert for [the 25th anniversary at the Met of] Jimmy Levine. I was exhausted. But it was good; it wasn’t bad performances. I think we had a wonderful success.