Edward Lankow

Born in 1883 and dying in 1940, Edward Lankow was an American bass singer who also wrote about breathing and physical training. Library and archival sources describe him as born Edward Rosenberg and note that he adopted the surname Lankow after studying with the voice teacher Anna Lankow.

He performed with major opera organizations, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Boston Opera House, and his Metropolitan Opera debut came in Die Zauberflöte on November 23, 1912, singing Sarastro. Later, he became known to readers for books such as How to Breathe Right and the two-volume The New Science of Controlled Breathing, which presented breathing as a tool for strength, health, and vocal control.

That mix of performer and teacher gives his writing its distinctive tone: part stage craft, part practical instruction. Even today, he is remembered both as a notable early American opera bass and as an author who tried to make disciplined breathing techniques useful far beyond the concert hall.