Hans Braun (14 May 1917 – 2 May 1992) was an Austrian operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

. He was a long-term member of the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

and appeared in leading roles such as Mozart's Count Almaviva and Wagner's Wolfram, including in major European opera houses and festivals.

Life

Born in Vienna, Braun was a member of the Peterlini-Sängerknaben in his hometown. He studied voice at the Wiener Musikakademie with

Hermann Gallos Hermann Gallos (21 January 1886 – 20 February 1957) was an Austrian operatic tenor and academic teacher. He was a long-standing ensemble member of the Vienna State Opera and performed regularly at the Salzburg Festival from 1922 to 1950, in rol ...

and

Hans Duhan Hans Duhan (27 January 1890 – 6 March 1971) was an Austrian operatic baritone. He belonged to the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera for 26 years and was the first Count Almaviva (''The Marriage of Figaro'') and the first Papageno (''the Magic ...

. He made his debut in 1938. From 1943 to 1945 he had an engagement at the

Stadttheater Königsberg For over 200 years, the Stadttheater Königsberg (Königsberg municipal theatre) in Königsberg was one of the most respected theatres in Prussia and in the German Empire. History Forerunner The Königsberg theatre began with carnival games and s ...

in today's

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

. From 1945, he was a member of the

, to which he belonged until 1979. After singing secondary roles in the beginning, he soon advanced to leading roles, performing 75 roles there. At the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

, he first appeared as a concert singer, then in 1949 and 1950 as the Minister in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'', in 1950 also as Olivier in ''

Capriccio Capriccio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Music * Capriccio (music), a piece of music which is fairly free in form * Fantasia in C major (Haydn), "Capriccio", a 1789 piano composition by Joseph Haydn * Capriccio (Janáček), a chamber music composition by ...

'' by Richard Strauss and Tarquinius in Benjamin Britten's ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera wa ...

''.

Braun made guest appearances at many European opera houses. He appeared at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

in London as Count Almaviva in Mozart's ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'' in 1949 and as Orest in ''

Elektra Electra, also spelt Elektra, was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology. Electra or Elektra may also refer to: Animals * ''Electra'' (bryozoan), a genus of aquatic invertebrates * ''Elektra'' (bug), a genus of insects in the ...

'' by Richard Strauss in 1953, which he also sang at the

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (literal English translation: 'Florence Musical May') is an annual Italian arts festival in Florence, including a notable opera festival, under the auspices of the Opera di Firenze. The festival occurs between late A ...

that year. In 1950, he performed as Wolfram in Wagner's '' Tannhaüser'' at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

in Milan. He appeared also in Naples, Berlin, Munich, and Hamburg, and at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

, where he performed the role of the Heerrufer in ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

''. Braun was briefly married to his colleague . Braun died in Vienna at age 74. He was buried at the

Vienna Central Cemetery The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest Cemetery, cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's big ...

Honours

* 1977: Honorary member of the Vienna State Opera

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Hans 1917 births 1992 deaths Singers from Vienna Austrian operatic baritones Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 20th-century Austrian male opera singers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery

Life

Honours

Further reading

References