Sorvino's Stepping In For Perry Mason

NEW YORK - OK, America: Will you please forgive Paul Sorvino for quitting the cast of NBC's "Law & Order"? Hey, it's more than a year. And the poor guy's practically begging you!

`People were mad at me. And I'm talking about angry!" said a rueful Sorvino, who returns to NBC tomorrow night in the Perry Mason-less `" Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Wicked Wives."

"This goes on today. At least two or three times a week, people say, `Why did you leave that show? You made me mad!' I had people calling out - truck drivers! - `Why'd you leave `Law & Order?' "

OK, so why did he quit "Law & Order"? The reasons are numerous and almost as complicated as the man himself, who played an opera-loving police detective in NBC's pre-eminent police-courtroom drama.

"In terms of quality of work, you couldn't ask for a better situation. But I didn't want to work 16 to 18 hours a day in a New York winter. Outside.

"Mr. Pavarotti will not speak outside in this weather. Absolutely not. Tenors don't speak much anyway, but they're not going to speak in this weather at all! I didn't want to leave my voice on the streets of New York."

His voice, you say? The actor is not only an opera lover, but a performer as well. Sorvino sang "Die Fledermaus" with the Seattle Opera in 1990.

Free from the commitment to "Law & Order," Sorvino inherited the Perry Mason project earlier this year, after series star Raymond Burr, who died of liver cancer in September, became too ill to work. The script was rewritten to accommodate Sorvino and his new character.

He plays Anthony Caruso, a flamboyant criminal defense lawyer who gets one of Perry's cases - and series regulars Barbara Hale and William R. Moses - when the Great Defender is out of town.

"I love to play a trial lawyer," said Sorvino. "You get to kill the bull every time. It's built-in drama, built-in intelligence, articulateness and a certain kind of adventure."

"This is a guy who sends flowers by the carload to the ladies," Sorvino said. "This is a guy who sends limousines to pick them up, who cooks for them, sings to them and recites poetry."

Sorvino hopes it may turn into more than a one-shot deal, but is realistic about his chances. "This is a test of the character," he said. "If it doesn't get the numbers, then it's goodbye, we had a nice time, and everything was wonderful. If it goes on, though, it'll be very nice."

Sorvino said the illness and death of a beloved voice teacher has forced him to reevaluate the direction of his career.

"A lot of things I should have and could have done. But because I never made the effort to get them or never made myself available, people began to think, `New York actor. Nice. He's interesting. Bye-bye. When we really need him, then we'll call him,' instead of (asking) `What about Paul?' " he said.

"And though I do indeed want to sing opera, I do indeed want to be in the movies. That is uncovered in me. There is a real big part of me that wants to establish myself and take whatever piece of the pie is mine."