Sándor Kónya studied singing initially with Ferenc Székelyhidy at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. His progress was interrupted by World War II, during which he was for a time a prisoner of war in Germany; but following the advent of peace he continued his studies in Detmold with Fred Husler, then in Rome with Mancini and in Milan with Rico Lani.

Kónya’s operatic stage debut came in 1951 as Turiddù / Cavalleria rusticana with Bielefeld Opera, where he remained until 1954, undertaking both heroic as well as lighter roles. He sang widely in Germany as a guest, for instance at Hamburg and Stuttgart, and was with the Darmstadt Opera for the 1954–1955 season before becoming a member of the Deutsche Oper’s ensemble in Berlin in 1955, remaini...