Holds the record as the oldest person to make a debut at the
Metropolitan Opera, singing the Emperor there in Turandot in
1987.
In celebration of his one hundredth birthday, he was awarded the World
of Song award for 2002 by the Lotte Lehmann Foundation.
He was specialized in tenor character roles.
He made his operatic debut in 1928 in Paris. He was respected for his
ability to handle difficult character roles. He gave over 400
performances at the Glyndebourne Festival (UK) over a period of 40
years. At the age of 92, he sang the role of Triquet in "Eugene
Onegin".
One of his fondest memories is appearing in the 1951 world premiere of
Stravinsky's opera "The Rake's Progress" with legendary soprano
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in Venice.
I always had a small voice. With this voice, I really loved to sing
small things in big theatres, rather than big things in small theatres.
(from an interview on the occasion of his 105th birthday)