Opera Singer. He gained fame as an early 20th-century opera singer who had an emotional baritone voice with exceptional vocal flexibility in a wide-ranging repertoire. His birthplace of Latvia was part of the Imperial Russian Empire. Born into an impoverished Jewish household with nine siblings, he was a young tailor's apprentice when his talent was discovered by a wealthy Russian benefactor during his performance with the Riga Choral Synagogue. After studying voice in Vienna, the handsome young man made his debut in 1902 as Amonasro in Verdi's "Aida" in Austria's Landschaftliches Theater in Linz before touring Riga and the Imperial Opera House in St. Petersburg. After returning to Vienna in 1909, he joined the Imperial Vienna Opera, but after being assigned a hectic schedule and operatic roles, he relocated to Berlin for better opportunities in 1915. During World War I, he appeared in "Rappelkopf" by Leo Blech in 1917 and "Notre Dame" of Franz Schmidt in 1918 and toured the Scandinavian countries. He became a superb interpreter of the German, Italian and French baritone repertoire. Besides Berlin, he performed in Paris, Prague and Budapest. Above all his compelling performances in the history of Berlin theater was the psychological study of Iago in Verdi's "Otello." While touring the United States in 1921, he performed at the Civic Opera Company in Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as several other important opera companies. In 1924, he appeared at Covent Garden in London as Rigoletto. He made a return performance in Chicago in 1925. In 1926 he sang in San Francisco in the premiere of the opera ''Fay-Yen-Fah'' by Joseph Redding. Suffering from chronic renal failure, he continued to perform with his last being on October 26, 1926, weeks before his death from the complications of surgery. After his death, his fame quickly faded. During World War II, his mausoleum was used as a hiding place for Jews, who were escaping the prosecution from Nazi Forces. The roof of the mausoleum could be accessed by the skylight over the tomb. On February 11, 1922 in New York City, he became the third husband of Clara Margaret Kaleimaiole Isenberg, who was the widow of Herman Sielken, the "Millionaire Coffee King." His father-in-law, Paul Isenberg, was a very successful sugarcane businessman in Hawaii. He had no children. He made a few recordings that are rarely available in the 21st century.