Franz Schwarz

Franz Schwarz was an Austrian baritone, billed abroad as Frank Schwartz, who trained at the Vienna Conservatory under Viktor von Rokitansky before further study in Italy. He made his stage debut at the Komische Oper in Vienna in 1880 and created Duke Robert in the world premiere of Strauss's Guntram at Weimar in 1894, where he held a Kammersänger appointment at the court theatre from 1896 to 1899. He went on to sing major Wagner roles at the Hamburg Stadttheater under Gustav Mahler from 1899 to 1904, and later held engagements at the Dresden Court Opera before settling in Magdeburg from 1915, where he died.