Franz Mazura

Franz Mazura (born 22 April 1924 in Salzburg) is an Austrian bass-baritone opera singer and actor. He was made a Kammersänger in 1980 and an Honorary Member of the National Theater of Mannheim in 1990. He most often plays villains and strange characters. Mazura studied with Frederick Husler at the Academy of Music in Detmold, and worked during his studies as an actor at the National Theater in Detmold. Mazura's debut on the operatic stage was delayed by the outbreak of World War II until 1949; he debuted then in Kassel, thereafter singing in Mainz, Brunswick, and Mannheim (where he was a member from 1964–1987). In 1960 he performed at the Salzburg Festspiele, in 1961 at the Berlin Opera, in 1971 at Bayreuth, and in 1973 at the Hamburg State Opera; he has also performed at the Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. Notable appearances include his 1976 performance as Alberich in Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold under Georg Solti and Peter Stein, and as Dr. Schön in Alban Berg's Lulu under Pierre Boulez and Patrice Chéreau, in its first complete performance as well as performances of Parsifal, Tosca, Wozzeck, Fidelio, Moses und Aron, and Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Although he is typecast as a villain, he appeared at Bayreuth as good-guys a few times: as the Wanderer in Siegfried (1988, with Daniel Barenboim conducting) and as Gurnemanz in Parsifal (1973, with Eugen Jochum conducting. He also sang the role of "Sprecher" (Speaker of the Temple of Wisdom) in The Magic Flute in San Francisco in 1969. Mazura is one of the longest-careered opera singers in history, having performed in 2017 in the world premier of Giorgio Battistelli's opera Lot, in the role of Abraham, when he (Mazura) was 93 years old. In April 2019, he performed as Meister Hans Schwarz the stocking-weaver in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. The final performance of this run was April 21; on April 22 Mazura celebrated his 95th birthday. Mazura appears on three Grammy Award winning recordings: as Dr. Schön in Lulu, conducted by Pierre Boulez (Best Opera Recording 1980), as Gunther in The Ring of the Nibelung (Best Opera Recording 1983), and as Moses in Moses und Aron, conducted by Sir Georg Solti (Best Opera Recording 1985). He can be seen on video as Gunther in the Jahrhundertring production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Klingsor in a performance of Parsifal from the Metropolitan Opera conducted by James Levine, Biterolf in a performance of Tannhäuser, and as Doktor Schön in Lulu, also from the Metropolitan Opera under Levine.