Richard Tucker
was one of the finest American tenors to ever grace the stage of the
major opera houses of the world. He is undoubtedly the
finest Jewish tenor who ever lived.
While working as a cantor, Tucker was preparing for a career
in the opera. He studied with Paul Althouse, a tenor who
once sang with the Metropolitan Opera. During his tenure as
cantor in the Brooklyn Jewish Center, he received an
invitation to audition for the Met.
His audition was
quite successful, and this led to the Metropolitan Opera
engaging him to take on the lead role in Ponchielli's La
Gioconda. From this engagement, he took on many more
operatic roles in both Italian and French operas. He became
one of the world's leading tenors.
His success in
opera forced Tucker to leave his position as cantor at the
Brooklyn Jewish Center. However, he had a great love for
cantorial and liturgical music and, even though he starred
in many operatic productions, he still found the time to
conduct High Holiday services all over the United States.
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