Kraus, Felix Von

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Kraus, Felix Von

Kraus, Felix Von, noted Austrian bass; b. Vienna, Oct. 3, 1870; d. Munich, Oct. 30, 1937. He studied philology and music history, took a course in harmony with Bruckner in Vienna, and received training in theory from Mandyczewski at the Univ. of Vienna (Ph.D., 1894, with a diss. on Caldara); also received vocal instruction from C. Van Zanten in Amsterdam and from Stockhausen in Frankfurt am Main. He made his debut in a Vienna concert (1896); made his operatic debut as Hagen at the Bayreuth Festival (1899), and continued to appear there until 1909, excelling as Gurnemanz, the Landgrave, and King Marke; sang at London’s Covent Garden (1907). In 1908 he became a prof, at the Munich Academy of Music. He married Adrienne Osborne (1899).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire