Ingvar Wixell, a Swedish baritone whose intelligent, vivid performances in the Italian repertory made him a respected fixture on the world’s opera stages, died Oct. 8 in Malmo, Sweden. He was 80.

His death was announced on the website of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.

Wixell was praised not just for his firm, grainy voice, but also for his dramatic acuity, stage presence and spontaneity. Reviewing his Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Verdi’s “Rigoletto” in 1973, Raymond Ericson wrote in The New York Times: “What gave Mr. Wixell’s singing its distinction was his awareness of the text. His clear enunciation and concern for words charged the vocal line with vitality.”

Ingvar Wixell was born on May 7, 1931, in Lulea, Sweden. He studied singing in Stockholm, where he made his debut in 1955 at the Swedish Royal Opera as Papageno in Mozart’s “Magic Flute.” In 1962 he sang Guglielmo in Mozart’s “CosÃ⅞ Fan Tutte” at the Glyndebourne Festival and for his debut at the Deutsche Oper.

He made his U.S. debut in San Francisco in 1967 as Belcore in Donizetti’s “Elisir d’Amore” and first appeared at Bayreuth in 1971 and at the Royal Opera House in London in 1972. In the six years after his Met debut as Rigoletto, he sang 81 performances with the company. He ended his career in 2003 singing the music teacher in Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” at the Malmo Opera in Sweden.

While he was best known for his steady-toned, riveting portrayals of the major baritone roles of Verdi — among them Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra,Amonasro in “Aida” and Germont in “La Traviata” — he also sang Mozart parts, like Don Giovanni and Count Almaviva in “Le Nozze di Figaro”; the title role in Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin”; Scarpia in Puccini’s “Tosca”; and Marcello in Puccini’s “Boheme.” He recorded many of his signature roles, several of them with the British conductor Colin Davis.

Wixell was not afraid to dip his toe in the pop arena, performing all the songs in the competition to choose Sweden’s entry in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. The winning song was “Annorstaedes Vals” (“Elsewhere Waltz”), which Wixell went on to perform — in English, as “Absent Friend” — at the international final in Naples, Italy. The song placed 10th.

In San Francisco he was a regular at La Traviata, a watering hole for artists at the opera there. Still on the restaurant’s menu is the dish that bears his name: salmone alla Wixell, baked in parchment with fresh tomatoes, black olives, pesto, garlic and white wine.