Witherspoon also studied singing with Walter Henry Hall and Max Treumann in New York City.

He worked in Paris with Jean-Baptiste Faure and Jacques Bouhy and in Milan with Francesco Lamperti and also studied in London and Berlin.

Witherspoon made his singing debut in 1898 with a small company in New York, and soon was making many appearances in concert and in oratorios.

On the strength of his work in these positions, Witherspoon was named to succeed Giulio Gatti-Casazza when the latter retired as General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in 1935.

[6] His will set aside money for the Library of Congress to buy music scripts to be donated in the name of Florence Hinkle, his second wife.