He was born in Iran but grew up in California. He studied chemistry in Los Angeles but after realizing his talent for singing and his gift for music and decided to devote himself to it. He studied composition and monody at the University of San Diego and made his first appearance as Amonasro (Aida) at Opera Pacific in California in 1988. Many important collaborations and appearances at major opera houses followed, including: Vienna State Opera, Finnish National Opera, Graz Opera, Teatro Real in Madrid, Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. He also worked regularly with the Metropolitan Opera and sang important roles in the baritone repertoire (Rigoletto, Otello, Amonasro, Alfio). In 1994, he sang the role of Nabucco in Verdi's opera of the same name during the first all-race elections in the Republic of South Africa. In 2012, he appeared for the first time at the San Diego Opera in the role of the High Priest of Dagon (Samson et Dalila). He has worked with great conductors, including Daniel Oren, James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Adam Fisher and Zubin Mehta. At the Greek National Opera, he sang the role of Rigoletto in the opera of the same name (2001). // Last update of the biography: January 2024 - The list of productions below is complete.