Klafsky, Katharina (Katalin)
Klafsky, Katharina (Katalin)
Klafsky, Katharina (Katalin), famous Hungarian soprano, aunt of Anton Maria Klafsky; b. St. Johann, Sept. 19, 1855; d. Hamburg, Sept. 22, 1896. She studied with Marchesi in Vienna and Hey in Berlin, then began her career as a chorus singer in various opera houses. She appeared in minor roles in Salzburg (1875), then was a member of the Leipzig Opera (1876–78); also studied with J. Sucher. In 1882 she attracted attention for her performance in the first London mounting of the Ring cycle; then toured with A. Neumann’s Wagner company; was in Bremen (1884) and Vienna (1885). She was a leading member of the Hamburg Opera (1886–95), where she excelled as a Wagnerian; returned to London (1892, 1894). She married the conductor and composer Otto Lohse in 1893; they toured the U.S. with the Damrosch Opera Co. (1895–96), then were engaged for the 1896-97 season of the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y., but she died before her scheduled debut. As one of the outstanding sopranos of her day, she was widely mourned upon her early death.
Bibliography
L. Ordemann, Aus dem Leben und Wirken von K. K. (Hameln, 1903).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire