Generally considered the greatest American-born, American-trained tenor of the post World War II era, Richard Tucker was born in Brooklyn to Russian immigrant parents. His musical ability was recognized early and he was tutored at his synagogue in lower Manhattan. Also an excellent athlete, he divided his high school years between athletics and singing at weddings and bar mitzvahs as a cantorial student.  In 1943, he became a full-time cantor at the Brooklyn Jewish Center. Although he did not win the 1941 Metropolitan Opera Auditions of the Air competition, the Met’s general manager came to the Brooklyn Jewish Center to hear Tucker sing and offered him a contract. Tucker debuted in 1945, which began a 30-year career.