 He took up operetta, soon becoming a matinee idol, then in 1919 went to Milan to pursue an opera career.His operatic debut was in 1921 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut".With the help of Italian conductor Giuseppe Bamboschek, he joined the touring Scotti Opera Company in the United States, and was soon noticed by the Metropolitan Opera where he debuted in 1923.