Opera Singer. A leading Russian bass, he earned praise in roles both comic and serious over a long career. The child of a miner, he was raised in a large family. He served in the Russian Army during World War I and was twice wounded and decorated for bravery. After the war, he studied at the Kharkiv Conservatory while also training as an engineer. Reizen made his operatic bow at Kharkiv in 1921 as Pimen from Modest Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov" and remained there until 1925 when he moved on to the Mariinsky Theatre of Leningrad (previously and now, St Petersburg). He also undertook a successful 1929 tour of Paris, London, Berlin, and Monte Carlo. In 1930, Reizen switched from the Mariinsky to Moscow's Bolshoi Opera under circumstances that have become legendary. After giving a performance as Mephistopheles in Charles Gounod's "Faust" that Josef Stalin, despite his well-known antipathy to Jews, enjoyed, he was asked by the dictator why he did not sing at the Bolshoi more often. He replied that he had a contract with the Mariinsky and an apartment in Leningrad. Stalin stated that he could be a company member at the Bolshoi and a guest elsewhere, and the next morning he was simply met by a soldier with a vehicle who took him to pick out a new apartment in Moscow. Over the years Reizen assumed roles Russian and otherwise including the title lead of "Boris Godunov," Don Basilio in Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," Prince Gremin from Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin," Konchak in Alexander Borodin's "Prince Igor," Salieri in Rimsky-Korsakov's "Mozart and Salieri," The Viking Guest of the same composer's "Sadkov," King Philip II from Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlo," and Wotan of Richard Wagner's "Ring." During World War II he entertained troops at the front lines then continued performing at the Bolshoi until his 1954 retirement. In later years he was a respected competition judge and held a professorship at Moscow's Gnesin Institute from 1967 on. Reizen received multiple honors including the Stalin Prize in 1941, 1949, and 1951 as well as designation as People's Artist of the USSR in 1937. Reizen was able to retain his vocal prowess despite the passage of time, as attested to by films of concerts he gave marking his 80th and 90th birthdays. He died of a stroke at 97, leaving a significant recorded legacy preserved on CD. His name is sometimes rendered as either "Reisen" or "Reyzen."