Ernst Kraus (Tenor) (Erlangen 1863 - Wörthsee 1941)

He studied singing under Anna Schimon-Regan in Munich, then with Cesare Galliera in Milan And made his debut in 1893 at the the Hoftheater in Mannheim  (as Tamino in "Zauberflöte"). He belonged to this opera house during three years. In 1894 he made first guest appearance at theHofoper in Berlin as Lohengrin. In the 1896-1898 seasons he was engaged as the first tenor by the Damrosch Opera Company in North America. In 1898 he appeared at the Hofoper in Berlin and sang here till 1924. He soon counted as one of the leading tenors of his generation. At the Hofoperin Berlin he sang in 1900 in the premières of the operas "Der Bärenhäuter" by Siegfried Wagner and "Der arme Heinrich" of Hans Pfitzner. On 9. 4. 1902 he created there the role of Heinrich in the premiere of the opera "Der Wald" by the English composer Ethel Smyth. In 1904 he appeared in the Berlin première of B. Smetana’s ‘’Dalibor’’. In 1906 he also sang the role of Herodes in theBerlin première of R. Strauss’s opera ‘’Salome’’. In 1910 he appeared in this role at the Covent Garden in London. In 1899 he performed in Berlin in the premiere of the opera ‘’Mudarra’’ of F. Le Borne. From 1899 to 1909 he appeared over and over again in R. Wagner's operas at the Bayreuth Festival. He made international guest appearances in London (Covent Garden 1900, 1907 and 1910), Milan (La Scala), Paris (Grand Opéra) Vienna, Munich and Dresden (Hofoper), Frankfurt a. M. (Opernhaus), Zurich (Stadttheater 1905, 1917 and 1918) and Brussels (Théâtre de la Monnaie). In the 1903-1904 season he sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Here he made his debut as Siegmund, then also appeared as Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan, Siegfried and Florestan in ‘’Fidelio’’. After his retirement, he worked since 1924 as pedagogue at the College of Music inMunich. He was married to actress Margarethe Hofmann, who appeared at Hoftheater inMannheim. His son Richard Kraus (1902-1978) became a known conductor. 

Chronology of some appearances

1893 Mannheim Hoftheater

1894 Berlin  Hofoper

1896-1898 North America
1898-1924 Berlin Hofoper
1899-1909 Bayreuth Festival

1900 London Covent Garden

1903-1904 New York Metropolitan Opera 

1905 Zurich Stadttheater

1907 London Covent Garden

1910 London Covent Garden
1917 Zurich Stadttheater

1918 Zurich Stadttheater

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

G&T, Berlin 1904
Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Am stillen Herd 3-42091 2465L
Walküre (Wagner): Winterstürme 3-42092 2466½L

G&T, Berlin 1905
Tristan und Isolde (Wagner): Wohin nun Tristan scheidet 3-42258 3068½L

G&T, Berlin 1906-09?
Walküre (Wagner): Siegmund heiss' ich 3-42742b 4714h
Lohengrin (Wagner): Das süsse Lied verhallt with Destinn 044057 542i
Lohengrin (Wagner): Wenn ich im Kampfe with Destinn 044056 543i

G&T, Berlin 1906-11?
Evangelimann (Kienzl): Selig sind, die Verfolgung leiden  3-42704 9710u

G&T, Berlin 1907-08?

Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns): Sieh' mein Elend, Herr with chorus 3-42909 3268r

Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns): Brüder, euer Klagesang with chorus 3-42910 3269r

Gramophone, Berlin 1908

Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Grüss Gott, mein Junker with Bachmann  044086 342m
Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Mein Freund in holder Jugendzeit with Bachmann 044087 343m