Karl Friedrich (15 January 1905 – 8 April 1981) was an Austrian operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. A member of the Vienna State Opera from 1938 to 1970, he is regarded as one of the leading tenors at the house during World War II and afterwards.

Life

Born in Vienna, Friedrich began as an apprentice metalworker. He studied voice at the

Vienna Academy The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria. History The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...

. He had his first engagement in 1931 in Karlsruhe, the following year in Ulm, the next year in Stralsund, from 1934 in Magdeburg, and from 1936 in Düsseldorf. In 1937, he was invited to appear as Don José in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' at the Vienna State Opera. A reviewer noted: "We have heard the flower aria only from Romanesque singers with the same passion and with such flowery lips, rarely with such beautiful ''

messa di voce ''Messa di voce'' (Italian, ''placing of the voice'') is a singing technique that requires sustaining a single pitch while gradually making the voice louder (crescendo) and then softer (diminuendo). It is considered to be a particularly advanced t ...

''". He then performed at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

as Adolar in Weber's ''

Euryanthe ''Euryanthe'' ( J. 291, Op. 81) is a German grand heroic-romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna on 25 October 1823.Brown, p. 88 Though acknowledged as one of Weber's most important operas, ...

'', conducted by Bruno Walter. Friedrich became a member of the Vienna State Opera on 1 September 1938 and remained at the house until 1970. He sang the entire lyrical-dramatic tenor repertoire. Friedrich was a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival. He also performed many parts in Franz Lehár's operettas, both on stage and on radio. He recorded the complete operettas ''

Giuditta ''Giuditta'' is an operatic ' (German for ''musical comedy'') in five scenes, with music by Franz Lehár and a German libretto, by and Fritz Löhner-Beda. Scored for a large orchestra, it was Lehár's last and most ambitious work, written on a l ...

'' and '' Paganini'', and appeared as Florestan in a recording of Beethoven's ''

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 ...

'', conducted by

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, the ...

. Friedrich was awarded the title '' Kammersänger'' in 1948. He became an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera in 1973. FriedrichKarl

Friedrich died in Vienna at age 76. He was buried in an honorary grave in the

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrich, Karl Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 1981 deaths Austrian operatic tenors 1905 births Musicians from Vienna 20th-century Austrian male opera singers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery