He was discovered by the conductor Clemens Krauss and he studied singing at Frankfurt, where he made his début as Florestan in Beethoven's only operatic work, Fidelio, in 1926.
Engagements followed in Vienna, Munich, Berlin, and London, where he appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1934 and 1937.
Roles that he sang during this period, in addition to Florestan , included Parsifal, Lohengrin, Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre and Max in Weber's Der Freischütz.
He appears in the title role of a fine complete live recording of Lohengrin, conducted by Robert Heger, made in Berlin in 1942.
They capture the warmth, strength and sensitivity of his singing during its prime and confirm his reputation as one of the finest Germanic tenors of the 20th century.