Who was Miklos Bencze

Miklós Bencze (b. 1911) made his Opera House debut at the relatively late age of 35. He was given several minor roles at first, but soon graduated to leads. He appeared as Ferrando in Il trovatore, as Sparafucile, Leporello, Don Basilio and Mephisto. The typically rasping timbre of his voice somewhat predestined him for character and buffo parts, to which he applied a fine acting talent and a splendid sense of humor. Since 1957 he has been living in the United States as a teacher of singing.Mike