Ernst Kraus (singer)

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Ernst Kraus, 1901.
Ernst Kraus with his family, 1904. Photo by Zander & Labisch .

Ferdinand Ernst Konrad Hermann Kraus (born June 8, 1863 in Erlangen , † September 5, 1941 in Walchstadt am Wörthsee) was a German opera singer ( hero tenor ).

Life

Ernst Kraus was born illegitimately on June 8, 1863 in Erlangen's old town as the son of Helena Babetta Schmidtner, the daughter of a journeyman hosiery worker, house number 721 (Bayreuther Str. 2). His full name was Ferdinand Ernst Konrad Hermann Schmidtner. It was not until the highest resolution of the Ministry of the Interior of July 19, 1881, possibly in connection with the death of his mother on April 14, 1881, that the name was changed to Kraus. He grew up in very simple circumstances, first in Erlangen (Harfengasse 8) and later in Munich. After training in the brewing and commercial trades, his talent for singing was discovered in the Munich commercial choral society "Die Bären". At its internal Christmas tree celebration on December 25, 1892, he appeared as a member of a vocal quartet and impressed a coincidentally present employee of the Munich Latest News so much that he reported two weeks later: “Such an ensemble is rarely heard ... and is the fruit of one diligent study. Of course, even a tenor like Herr Kraus will be difficult to find; the vocal means of this singer, who intends to devote himself to the stage, are looking for their equal in scope, timbre and softness. ”Thanks to a scholarship, Kraus then studied singing with Anna Schimon-Regan (Munich) and later in Milan.

A first concert in Munich was followed by an engagement at the Court and National Theater in Mannheim , where he made his debut as Tamino in the Magic Flute in March 1893 . His appearances as Erik, Stolzing, Siegmund and Siegfried at the Richard Wagner Festival in Bayreuth were enthusiastically celebrated for years. At a performance in his native Erlangen on November 6, 1906 in the Redoutensaal, Kraus was also cheered frenetically. Guest performances have taken him to stages in Graz, London, Paris, Prague, Sweden, Riga and New York. From 1896 Ernst Kraus held the position of First Hero Tenor at the Berlin Court Opera for over 25 years . Kraus is considered one of the most important Wagner interpreters of the 20th century. He had a friendly relationship with Enrico Caruso .

In 1923, Ernst Kraus turned his back on the stage and from then on devoted himself to training young singers in Munich. His son is the conductor Richard Kraus (1902–1978). In 1930 Kraus retired to his country estate on Wörthsee near Munich, where he died at the age of 78.

literature

  • Ludwig Eisenberg: Ludwig Eisenberg's Large Biographical Lexicon of the German Stage in the XIX. Century . List, Leipzig 1903, p. 542 f. ( Digitized version )
  • David Ewen: Encyclopedia of the Opera: New Enlarged Edition . Hill and Wang, New York 1963.
  • Karl-Josef Kutsch , Leo Riemens : Immortal Voices. Small lexicon of singers . Francke, Bern and Munich 1962.
  • Kurt Malisch: Kraus, Ernst. In: Karl Bosl (ed.): Bosls Bavarian biography. Supplementary volume. 1000 personalities from 15 centuries. Pustet, Regensburg 1988, ISBN 3-7917-1153-9 , p. 90 ( digitized version ).
  • More Opera Singers Here. In: The New York Times , November 19, 1903 ( digitized version )

Web links

Commons : Ernst Kraus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kurt Malisch: Kraus, Ernst. In: Karl Bosl (ed.): Bosls Bavarian biography. Supplementary volume. 1000 personalities from 15 centuries. Pustet, Regensburg 1988, ISBN 3-7917-1153-9 , p. 90 ( digitized version ).
personal data
SURNAME Kraus, Ernst
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kraus, Ferdinand Ernst Konrad Hermann (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (hero tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1863
PLACE OF BIRTH gain
DATE OF DEATH September 5, 1941
Place of death Walchstadt am Wörthsee