Aleksandr Kipnis was born in
Zhitomir, the capital of the
Volhynian Governorate, in the
Russian Empire (today part of
Ukraine). His impoverished family of seven lived in a Jewish ghetto. After his father died, when he was aged 12, he helped support the family as a carpenter's apprentice and by singing soprano in local synagogues and in
Bessarabia (now
Moldova) until his voice changed. As a teenager he took part in a
Yiddish theatrical group, until he entered the
Warsaw Conservatory at age 19. The conservatory did not require a high-school diploma. His education included the study of the
trombone,
double bass and conducting. All the while he continued to sing in synagogues. On the recommendation of the choirmaster, he traveled to Berlin and studied voice with
Ernst Grenzebach who was also a teacher of
Lauritz Melchior,
Meta Seinemeyer, and
Max Lorenz. At the same time he sang second bass in Monti's Operetta Theater. When the
First World War started, Kipnis was interned as an alien in a German holding camp. While singing to himself he was overheard by an army captain whose brother was general manager of the
Wiesbaden Opera. Kipnis was released from custody and he was engaged by the
Hamburg Opera. He made his operatic debut in 1915, singing three
Johann Strauss songs as a "guest" in the party scene of the operetta
Die Fledermaus. In 1917, he moved to the
Wiesbaden Opera, having gained invaluable stage experience. He sang in more than 300 performances at Wiesbaden until 1922, when he joined the
Berlin Staatsoper. ==International career==