Around the Music Festival

Austrian bass baritone singer Franz Mazura died on January 23 at his home in Mannheim, Germany, at the age of 95. He has performed on international stages such as the Vienna State Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Opéra national de Paris. In 1980 he was awarded the title of “court singer”.

He was fine even after the age of ninety, and sang Hans Schwartz in April last year at the Berlin State Opera’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” conducted by Daniel Barenboim. He was celebrating his 95th birthday during the performance.

Mazra was born in Salzburg, Austria, and studied at the Music Academy in Detmold, Germany, before making a singer debut at the Kassel State Theater in 1949. Later, he worked at the Mainz Municipal Theater and the Braunschweig State Theater, and was a member of the Mannheim National Theater from 1964 to 1987.

In 1980 he sang Dr. Shane of Berg’s “Lulu” and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera. He has since performed in Wagner’s works, including “Parsifal” and “The Ring of the Nibelung”.

He has performed frequently at prominent music festivals, regularly performing at the Bayreuth Festival in Germany from 1975 to 1995. He played Klingsole in “Parsifal”, Biterolf in “Tannhäuser” and King Marche in “Tristan und Isolde”. At the Salzburg Festival, he plays Don Pissarro of “Fidelio”, Scarpia of “Tosca” and Jokanaan of “Salome”. He also participates a lot in recording.

Photo：Manfred Rinderspacher