Trivia

Opera singer (bass).

Was generally recognized as "simply the largest bass voice in captivity" (as one reviewer put it) during the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Wagner conductors all over the world adjusted their performance-schedules to accommodate his availability, especially for performances of "Gotterdammerung".

Excelled at playing menacing, threatening characters in operas.

Won two Grammy awards, both for recording music by Wagner, in 1991 and 1982.

In 2017, he received the ICMA Lifetime Achievement Award. (ICMA is International Classical Music Awards.).