Anna Maria Krull (12 January 1876 – 14 June 1947) was a German operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

. She is most remembered today for having created the title role in Richard Strauss' opera '' Elektra''.

Biography

Annie Krull was born in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

, studied in Berlin with Hertha Brämer, and made her stage debut in 1898 at the

Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...

Stadttheater as Agathe in ''

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 181 ...

''. From 1900 to 1912, she sang at the

Dresden State Opera The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...

, where in 1901 she created the title role in

Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (; – 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist and composer who became a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the new nation's Prime Minister and foreign minister during which he signed the Treaty of Versail ...

's ''

Manru ''Manru'' is an opera (lyrical drama) in three acts, music by Ignacy Jan Paderewski composed to the libretto by Alfred Nossig based on the novel ''A Hut Behind the Village'' (1854) by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski. The libretto was written in German ...

'' and Diemut in Richard Strauss' early opera '' Feuersnot''. Strauss, who had admired her dramatic qualities, then chose her to be the first Elektra. A year after its premiere in Dresden on 25 January 1909, she repeated the role at London's

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

. It was the first time a Strauss opera was performed in Britain. Krull sang regularly in several other German opera houses (

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and Schwerin) as well as appearing in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

(1905) and

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(1907). Amongst the other roles she sang were Leonore in ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

'', Senta in '' The Flying Dutchman'', Elsa in '' Lohengrin'', Elisabeth in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'', Sieglinde in '' Die Walküre'', Isolde in '' Tristan und Isolde'', Margiana in ''

Der Barbier von Bagdad ''Der Barbier von Bagdad'' (''The Barber of Baghdad'') is a comic opera in two acts by Peter Cornelius to a German libretto by the composer, based on ''The Tale of the Tailor'' and ''The Barber’s Stories of his Six Brothers'' in '' One Thousand ...

'', Marta in '' Tiefland'', and Valentine in ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

''. Annie Krull had married the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Max Flor in 1904, and in her later years lived in Schwerin where she taught singing. She died there on 14 June 1947 at the age of 71.

Recordings

Krull's voice can be heard on a complete recording of Act 2 of ''

'' made in Berlin in 1909 for

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

, further records were made for

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...

(Berlin 1913). A remastered version appears on ''Wagner: Tannhäuser Act II; Lohengrin Bridal Scene'' (

Preiser Records Preiser Records is an independent Austrian record label. It was founded in 1952 by Otto G. Preiser (1920–1996). The label is particularly important for recordings from the Viennese cabaret scene, especially from the 1950s and 1960s (Helmut Qua ...

89949)

Sources

* Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, Leo
''Unvergangliche Stimmen''
Francke Verlag Bern, 1962, . *Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J., ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979, *Girard & Barnes: Vertical-cut Cylinders and Discs, BIRS London 1971 {{DEFAULTSORT:Krull, Annie German operatic sopranos 1876 births 1947 deaths People from Rostock 20th-century German women opera singers