Herman Jadlowker

Herman (Hermann) Jadlowker (17 July 1877, Riga – 13 May 1953, Tel Aviv) was a leading Latvian-born tenor of Russian (later Israeli) nationality who enjoyed an important international career during the first quarter of the 20th century.

His virtuoso recordings of arias from Idomeneo and Il barbiere di Siviglia, among others, are considered to this day to be classics of the gramophone.

In order to escape from a commercial career into which his father tried to force him, Jadlowker ran away from home as a lad of 15. He journeyed to Vienna, where he studied classical singing with Josef Gänsbacher. In 1899 (some sources say 1897), he made his operatic début at Cologne in Kreutzer's Nachtlager von Granada. He then secured engagements in Stettin and then at Karlsruhe. Here the German Emperor William (Kaiser Wilhelm II) heard him and was so impressed that he offered the tenor a five-year contract at the Royal Opera in Berlin. Apart from Berlin, Jadlowker sang also in Stuttgart, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Vienna, Lemberg, Prague, Budapest and Boston during the course of his career.

In 1910 and 1912, Jadlowker appeared at the New York Metropolitan Opera House, where he proved to be one of the company's most versatile artists although his performances were overshadowed by those of the great Enrico Caruso.

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