Czech (later British) operatic baritone and teacher
Otakar Kraus OBE (10 December 1909 — 28 July 1980) was a Czech (later British), operatic baritone and teacher.
He was born in Prague and studied there with Konrad Wallerstein and in Milan with Fernando Carpi. He himself was the teacher of a number of important British basses, including Robert Lloyd, Willard White, John Tomlinson, Gwynne Howell and Colin Iveson. He taught the British baritone John Rawnsley and he was also a teacher of New Zealand baritone Barry Mora.[citation needed]
He made his operatic debut as Amonasro in Aida in Brno in 1935. From 1936 to 1939 he sang as principal baritone[1] at the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava. In 1940, he moved to England, appearing at the Savoy Theatre in Mussorgsky's The Fair at Sorochyntsi, and from 1943 to 1946 he appeared with the Carl Rosa Opera Company, singing Scarpia, Germont, the three roles in Hoffmann and other parts.[2] After seasons with the English Opera Group and the Netherlands Opera, he joined the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1951, and sang there until 1973.[3]
Kraus specialised in villainous characters. His roles at Covent Garden and worldwide included Don Pizarro in Fidelio, Iago in Otello and Scarpia in Tosca, as well as Alberich in the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festival from 1960 to 1962. He created the roles of Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, King Fisher in Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage, Diomede in Walton's Troilus and Cressida, and the Sheriff in Gian Carlo Menotti's Martin's Lie.[4]
He died in London.
The Otakar Kraus Music Trust, a charity which provides music therapy to children and adults with special needs,
was founded by Dr. Margaret Lobo, a former pupil, in memory of him.[5]
It was founded in 1988 in Twickenham, London and now operates in that local area and also in India.
His name is mentioned in the Czech film "Cosy Dens" (1999)[6] by Jirí Kodet (as Kraus).
^Opera. June 1954, p340
^Opera. June 1954, p340
^Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera vol. 2, p. 1040. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-522186-2.
^Warrack, John, and Ewan West (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869164-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Sharma, Azad. "Interview: Dr. Margaret Lobo, Otakar Kraus Music Trust". Ideas Alliance. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
OtakarKraus OBE (10 December 1909 — 28 July 1980) was a Czech (later British), operatic baritone and teacher. He was born in Prague and studied there...
composer, conductor and teacher Otakar Kouba (1906–?), Czechoslovak canoeist who competed in the 1936 Summer Olympics OtakarKraus (1909–1980), Czech (later...
Kraus or kraus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Kraus is a German surname meaning "curly". Notable people with the surname include: Adalbert Kraus...
The Eel Pie Club. Part of the proceeds from the concert benefitted the OtakarKraus Music Trust, which provides music and voice therapy for children and...
Danco (Marie), Walter Widdop (Tambourmajor), Frank Vroons (Andres), OtakarKraus (Doctor), Parry Jones (Hauptmann), Mary Jarred (Margret), BBC Chorus...
was started by Margaret Lobo. She is the founder and director of the OtakarKraus Music Trust and her work began in 2004. In 2006, Hamda Farhat introduced...
Music and Drama under Bryan Drake; he later privately studied under OtakarKraus. Moses has sung with all the major British opera companies, including...
Opera Centre, and came to the UK in 1970. Her teachers there included OtakarKraus, who told her that 'one day you'll be a dramatic soprano'. In 1972, she...
Dowling, Nancy Evans*, Catherine Lawson, Gladys Parr*, Margaret Ritchie*, OtakarKraus, Roy Ashton*, Norman Lumsden* Benjamin Britten, English Opera Group Orchestra...
Ring 1957 Wolfgang Windgassen Birgit Nilsson Peter Klein Hans Hotter OtakarKraus Maria von Ilosvay Frederick Dalberg Jeannette Sinclair Rudolf Kempe Royal...
Gostik Regina Resnik Joseph Rouleau David Kelly John Lanigan David Tree OtakarKraus Josephine Veasey Joan Carlyle Duncan Robertson Rafael Kubelik Orchestra...
Labbette, Joan Hammond, Heddle Nash, Norman Allin, Marina de Gabaráin and OtakarKraus. Conductors included the refugees Walter Susskind (1942–44) Vilém Tauský...
determined to impose discipline on singers, sacked him. The company baritone OtakarKraus, already scheduled to sing some performances, took on all of them. However...
founded by Dr. Margaret Lobo, who is also the founder and director of the OtakarKraus Music Trust, UK. The trust provides music therapy to children and adults...
Recording at Bayreuth Festival CD: Walhall Cat: WLCD 0216 Mono, Live 1957 OtakarKraus Hans Hotter Georgine von Milinkovič Erich Witte Elisabeth Lindermeier...
Florence Austral, Göta Ljungberg, Fernand Ansseau, Sena Jurinac, Rita Gorr, OtakarKraus, Webster Booth, and Sir Keith Falkner Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24...
London to pursue his singing career. Mora studied singing in London with OtakarKraus. He was a member of the Gelsenkirchen Opera House from 1976 until 1980...
Gas Corporation. Fred Keys, lately Secretary, Pye of Cambridge Ltd. OtakarKraus, Singer. Alan George Kruger, ERD, Controller, Personnel & Finance, Midlands...