Jagel was born on June 10, 1897, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a church-organist father and a pianist mother. When he was 4 years old he began to study music; during his youth he studied voice while working as a life-insurance
actuary. He served in
World War I, after which he sang in a church choir until a benefactor financed his going to Italy for advanced studies in singing. ==Life and career==