He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, in roles including Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana.

He studied music at Bucknell University and then singing privately with Perley Dunn Aldrich in Philadelphia and Oscar Saenger and Percy Rector Stevens in New York City.

His first major assignment with that company came on March 19, 1913, as Grigory in the United States premiere of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov under the baton of Arturo Toscanini.

[9] Althouse remained at the Met through 1920, during which time he participated in the world premieres of Victor Herbert's Madeleine (François, 1914), Umberto Giordano’s Madame Sans-Gêne (Neipperg, 1915), Reginald de Koven's The Canterbury Pilgrims (Squire, 1917), Charles Wakefield Cadman’s Shanewis (Lionel, 1918) and Joseph Carl Breil’s The Legend (Stephen, 1919).

His other roles at the house during these years included: Cavaradossi in Tosca, Froh in Das Rheingold, the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Nicias in Thaïs, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Uin-San-Lui in Franco Leoni's L'Oracolo, Walther in Tannhäuser, Vladimir in Prince Igor, and the title role in Oberon.

[4] After a thirteen-year absence, Althouse returned to the Met on February 26, 1933, for a special concert honoring Giulio Gatti-Casazza.

[1] Amongst his pupils were Richard Tucker, Eleanor Steber, Astrid Varnay, University of Southern California Voice Chair Margaret Schaper, Dean Verhines, and Léopold Simoneau.