He was born in Fülöpszállás, Hungary on 16/03/1919. He studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music under Margit Walter and Jenö Sipos. He made his debut in 1947 at the People's Opera Budapest (now Hungarian State Opera House), as Salieri in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Mozart and Salieri. In 1949 he joined the Hungarian State Opera Budapest, where he was one of the main artistic staff (1949-1979). He also debuted there as Zuniga in Carmen. At the same time, he sang bass roles in Cologne, Leipzig, Wiesbaden National Theatre, Moscow (Bolshoi Theater), London (Royal Opera House Covent Garden), Paris (Grand Opera), while he took part in an extensive tour in the USA. He starred in the world premiere of Sándor Szokolay’s opera Behold the Man [Ecce homo] (Budapest, 1987). His repertory included roles such as the title role in Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov, Bluebeard [Bluebeard's Castle/A kékszakállú herceg vára], Telramund [Lohengrin], Wotan and Alberich [The Ring of the Nibelung/Der Ring des Nibelungen] , Wozzeck [Wozzeck], Grand Inquisitor [Don Carlos], Figaro [The marriage of Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro], Baron Scarpia [Tosca], Iago [Otello] and Méphistophélès [Faust]. He was also especially active and famous as a soloist in concerts. In cooperation with the Hungarian label Qualiton/Hungaroton, he participated in the recordings of the Hungarian works Bánk Bán by Ferenc Erkel, and Blood Wedding [Vérnász] and Samson by Sándor Szokolay. He received many awards, including the Franz Liszt Prize (1960), the Székely Mihály Medal (1966), the Kossuth Award (1985), etc. He died in Budapest on 16/02/1993. He sang the Dutchman in Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman [Der fliegende Holländer], staged by the GNO in the 1973/74 season.