In 1930, in Frankfurt, Herbert Graf directed the world premiere of Arnold Schoenberg's "Von heute auf morgen". In 1936, after holding operatic posts in Münster, Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland), Frankfurt (where he was director of the Opera School at the Hoch Conservatory, 1930–1933; when the Nazis came to power he was released from his duties) and Salzburg, the 33-year-old Graf emigrated to the United States, where he became a successful and popular opera producer at New York's Metropolitan Opera (1936–1960, debuting with "Samson and Delilah"). He staged new famous productions in the French ("The Tales of Hoffmann" 1937), Italian ("Otello" 1937, "La forza del destino" 1943), then German ("Der Ring des Nibelungen" 1947, "Der Rosenkavalier" 1949), repertoires. Graf had a strong sense of tradition and encouraged young operatic talent. In the late 1950s, he returned to Europe, where he produced opera at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, (1958–1959). After another year in New York, Graf settled in Switzerland, working at the Zürich Opera (1960–1963), and Geneva's Grand Théâtre (1965–1973).