Krenn, Fritz

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Krenn, Fritz

Krenn, Fritz, Austrian bass; b. Vienna, Dec. 11, 1897; d. there, July 17, 1964. He studied at the Vienna Academy of Music. He made his operatic debut as the Herald in Lohengrin in Trieste in 1917, and then sang in Vienna at the Volksoper (1917–18) and in Bratislava (1918–19). He subsequently was at the Vienna State Opera (1919-25; 1934-42; 1946-59), and also sang with the Berlin State Opera (1927–43), and with Covent Garden in London (1935). He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. on Jan. 5, 1951, as Baron Ochs; then continued his career in Europe. He was highly successful in buffo roles.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire