Alexander Kipnis

Renowned Ukrainian-born American bass opera singer

Ukrainian operatic bass (February 13, 1891 - May 14, 1978), he became an American citizen in 1931, and was the father of harpsichordist Igor Kipnis. "It was the dream of my childhood," Kipnis tells us, " to march at the head of a troupe as drum-major, dressed in a smart uniform. In fact, I began to study becoming a Conductor, at the school of Music in Warsaw. But soon things changed. My voice became stronger, and one evening an impresario advised me to devote myself entirely to singing. As the possibilities in Russia for this sort of study were at that time very bad, I took leave and found myself with my large amount of luggage - I had a suitcase with linen and a vocabulary - on the platform of the station, not having made up my mind where to go. Vienna or Berlin? That was the question. It just happened that a train was due for Germany, and I quickly took a ticket and travelled to Berlin. I was never sorry for having made this decision”. He studied under Grenzebach.