Artūrs Cavara

[1] Cavara was born in Liepāja to Sīmaņas and Līze Priedniekas (née Krūms).

While performing outside of Latvia, he used the stage name Artūrs Cavara, in honor of his favorite role of Mario Cavaradosi from Giacomo Puccini's 1900 opera Tosca.

Cavara's success and stardom peaked in the 1930s, but due to World War II and Joseph Stalin's invasion of Latvia in the early 1940s, his singing and recording career was cut short prematurely; subsequently, many of his recordings have been lost or lie in obscurity.

After his release, he continued to work at the Riga Opera, as well as to give concerts in various Latvian cities.

[2] In 1947, he and his family fled Latvia to the United States via Ellis Island, settling in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he taught vocal instruction and opera production at Gustavus Adolphus College.