Katharina Klafsky (19 September 1855 – 22 September 1896) was a Hungarian operatic singer whose acclaimed international career was cut short by a chronic illness which proved fatal. Klafsky was born at Szent-János,

Wieselburg Wieselburg (Central Bavarian: ''Wieslbuag'') is a town in Lower Austria, Austria, located near the River Erlauf. Its name roughly translates to castle where two rivers meet, as there are two rivers that run together to create the Erlauf. Its popu ...

, of humble parents. Being employed at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

as a

nursemaid A nursemaid (or nursery maid) is a mostly historical term for a female domestic worker who cares for children within a large household. The term implies that she is an assistant to an older and more experienced employee, a role usually known as n ...

, her fine

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 ...

voice led to her being engaged as a chorus singer, and she was given lessons in music. By 1882, she became well known in

Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

roles at the

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 ...

theatre, and she increased her reputation by appearing at other German musical centres. In 1892, she appeared in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and had a great success in Wagner's operas, notably as

Brünnhilde Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( non, Brynhildr , gmh, Brünhilt, german: Brünhild , label= Modern German or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess Brunhilda ...

and as Isolde, her dramatic as well as vocal gifts being of an exceptional order. She sang with the

Damrosch Opera Company The Damrosch Opera Company was an American opera company which existed from 1894 until 1900. The company was organized by Walter Damrosch, and was meant to present German opera; in this capacity it did much to advance the cause of Richard Wagner' ...

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1895, but died of

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

in 1896. Klafsky was married to the conductor

Otto Lohse Otto Lohse (21 September 1859 – 5 May 1925) was a German conductor and composer. Born in Dresden, Lohse studied with Hans Richter and Felix Draeseke at the Dresden Conservatory. In 1882 he became conductor of two music societies in Riga, the ...

References

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1853 births 1896 deaths Deaths from brain tumor Deaths from cancer in Germany Hungarian operatic sopranos People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County 19th-century Hungarian women opera singers {{Hungary-opera-singer-stub