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The Austrian bass-baritone singere and actor, Franz Mazura, was the son of Maria, a homemaker, and Franz Mazura, a tax inspector. He first studied mechanical engineering. He was drafted in 1942. After World War II, he studied with Frederick Husler at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, and worked during his studies as an actor at the Landestheater Detmold.
Franz Mazura made his debut on the opera stage as a bass at the Staatstheater Kassel in 1949. He then worked at the Staatstheater Mainz, Staatstheater Braunschweig, and Nationaltheater Mannheim, where he was a member of the ensemble from 1958 to 1963. In Mannheim, he was cast more in baritone roles. He recalled the time there as especially pleasant, singing a repertoire of 60 roles and enjoying the collaboration among colleagues. He was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1963.
From 1960, Franz Mazura performed at the Salzburg Festival, first as Cassandro in W.A. Mozart's La finta semplice, then from 1970 as Pizarro in L.v. Beethoven's Fidelio. He had a guest contract with the Hamburg State Opera from 1973. At the Vienna State Opera, he appeared as the Komtur (Commendatore) in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, as Pizarro, as La Roche in Capriccio by Richard Strauss and as Jochanaan in Salome, among others. He appeared at the Bayreuth Festival from 1971 for 25 years. He sang the roles of Alberich and Gunther in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Biterolf in Tannhäuser, Marke in Tristan und Isolde, and finally Klingsor in Parsifal. His other W.A. Mozart roles included the Speaker of the Temple of Wisdom in Die Zauberflöte.
In 1976, Franz Mazura performed as Alberich in Wagner's Das Rheingold under Georg Solti, staged by Peter Stein. On February 24, 1979, he appeared in the double role of Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in the world premiere of the completed version of Alban Berg's Lulu at the Paris Opera, conducted by Pierre Boulez and directed by Patrice Chéreau. In the same opera and theatre, he appeared as Schigolch, first in 2003. He also performed roles such as Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca, the Doctor in Alban Berg's Wozzeck, and in Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis. Although he was typecast as a villain, he appeared at Bayreuth a few times in other roles, such as Gurnemanz in Parsifal in 1973, with Eugen Jochum conducting, and Wanderer in Siegfried in 1988, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.
Franz Mazura first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1980, at age 56, as Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper in Lulu. He returned regularly for 15 years. Among his roles at the Met was Alberich in Der Ring des Nibelungen in 1981, conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. In Siegfried, reviewer Donal Henahan found him and Heinz Zednik as Mime the most interesting in their character roles. The same year, he appeared as Creon in Igor Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. He performed as Gurnemanz and Pizarro in 1983, as Count Waldner in Arabella by Richard Strauss in 1984, alongside Kiri Te Kanawa in the title role and conducted by Marek Janowski, and as the Doctor in Wozzeck in 1995. After repeating Lulu and Parsifal, he was Frank in a new production of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss in 1986, and Mr. Flint in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd in 1989. His last performance at the Met was again Dr. Schön in 2002.
Franz Mazura's career as an opera singer was extremely long. He appeared in 2006 in the narrating role of Charon in Henze's Das Floß der Medusa, which was performed for the composer's 80th birthday at the Berliner Philharmonie, conducted by Simon Rattle, and with Christian Gerhaher as Jean-Charles and Camilla Nylund as La Mort. He performed in 2017 in the world premiere of Giorgio Battistelli's opera Lot, in the role of Abraham, at age 93. In April 2019, he performed as Meister Hans Schwarz in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Staatsoper Berlin. The final performance of this run was on April 21, the night before Mazura's 95th birthday.
Franz Mazura was made a Kammersänger in 1980 and an Honorary Member of the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1990. He most often played villains and strange characters, with signature roles including Klingsor in Wagner's Parsifal. Mazura took part in world premieres, such as the double role of Dr. Schön and Jack the Ripper in the world premiere of the completed version of Alban Berg's Lulu at the Paris Opera in 1979, and as Abraham in Giorgio Battistelli's Lot in 2017. Two of his recordings received Grammy Awards. His voice was described as with dark timbre, powerful and like granite ("dunkel gefärbt, kräftig und wie Granit"), with perfect diction. His acting ability was described as "well-supplied with vivid imaginative touches, whether deployed in comic roles or characters of inexorable malevolence. Mazura could achieve more impact with a lifted eyebrow or a belligerently thrust chin than many artists could with a ten-minute monologue."
Franz Mazura lived in Edingen-Neckarhausen since 1964. He died on January 23, 2020.
Mazura can be seen on DVD as Gunther in the Jahrhundertring production of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Klingsor in Parsifal, Biterolf in Tannhäuser, and Doktor Schön in Lulu. |
