He was born on 23/11/1898 in Pécs, Hungary and was of Jewish origin; his father was a cantor. He studied voice in Budapest and Vienna. He debuted in Plauen, Germany as Hermann in Tannhäuser (1924/25). From 1928 he started singing regularly at the Berlin State Opera and the Kroll Opera House, where in 1929 he participated in the premieres of Hindemith’s News of the Day [Neues vom Tage] and Milhaud’s Christopher Columbus [Christophe Colomb]. Form 1931 to 1940 he sang at the Opernhaus Düsseldorf, the Bayreuth Festival, the Vienna State Opera, La Monnaie Opera Brussels, in Graz, Salzburg, at the Hungarian State Opera House, as well as in Egypt and the Lyric Theater of Chicago. In 1944 he was taken prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. After his release he took refuge in Switzerland. After the war, he appeared in Basel and the Metropolitan Opera New York (Met), as King Marke (Tristan und Isolde, 1946). He collaborated with the MΕΤ from 1946 to 1963, participating in 175 performances, while also appearing at the Royal Opera London, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires and Grand Opéra Paris. In 1963 he returned to Europe and settled in Switzerland. He concluded his career in 1966 as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. His repertoire included roles from the operas Don Giovanni (Commendatore), Der fliegende Holländer (Daland), Die Walküre (Hunding), Don Carlos (Philip II) and Cosi fan tutte (Don Alfonso). He died in Zurich on 15/02/1981. He collaborated with the GNO once, singing the role of Rocco (Fidelio) at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Athens Festival, 1957). // Last update of the biography: March 2020 - The list of the productions below is complete.