He studied voice and violin before becoming a singer with the Zurich
Operahouse. He was a student of noted tenor Julius Patzak in Vienna.
Later, he taught at Munich's University of Music and Performing
Arts.
He was known for his performances of German lieder, opera, and
oratorio. He was the leading lyric tenor with the Deutsche Oper Berlin
from 1952 to 1972. During the course of his career, he sang all of the
tenor parts composed by Mozart.
He won several awards for his recordings on the Columbia and Deutsche
Grammophon labels; these included Mozart operas and Beethoven's
"Fidelio".