- Profession: Baritone
- Relation to Mahler: Worked with Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) in the Vienna State Opera
- Correspondence with Mahler:
- Born: 31-01-1849
- Died: 15-05-1918
- Buried: 00-00-0000
Born: Fritz Cristofes.
Started as a chorister and performer in small acting roles in Braunschweig, He was later engaged in Potsdam, Stettin, Elbing, St. Gallen and Dusseldorf. In 1880 he arrived at the Municipal Theatre of Nuremberg, – he began his career as an opera singer without any proper training . He remained until 1884 in Nuremberg, 1884-90 in Bremen.
In 1888 he sang at the Bayreuth Festival as Beckmesser in the ‘Meistersinger’ .and sang the role again at the Bayreuth Festival in 1889 and 1899; 1897-1902 he also sang at Bayreuth as Alberich in ” the Nibelung Ring”, and in 1902 as Klingsor ‘Parsifal’.In the years 1890-93 he made limited appearances in concerts due to a nervous disorder . From 1896, he worked again at the Municipal Theatre of Bremen, but also made extensive guest performances 1899-1902 he was engaged at the New York Metropolitan Opera, where sang Alberich, Beckmesser and Falstaff in the “Merry Wives of Windsor ‘ by Nicolai .
Guest performances have taken him to the Kroll Opera in Berlin (1887, 1888), at the Court Opera in Vienna (1888), Berlin (1896, 1899), Dresden (1897) and Munich (1898), to the opera houses of Frankfurt (1896 ) and Hamburg (1902), Court Theatre of Stuttgart (1898) , Karlsruhe (1899-1902) and at the German Theatre in Prague (1899, 1902).
In 1902 he made guest appearances at the Royal Opera Stockholm as Alberich and Beckmesser. his other Wagner roles were Baculus ,and van Bett in ‘Zar und Zimmermann’ and Stadinger in ‘Waffenschmied ‘ by Lortzing, also Bombardon in ‘Goldenen Kreuz’ by Ignaz Brüll and Bartolo in Rossini’s’ ‘Barber of Seville’.
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Since 1869 he was a chorister and a comprimario singer in his home town Braunschweig, Potsdam, Stettin, Düseldorf, Elbing and St. Gallen. In 1880 he appeared at the Stadttheater von Nürnberg and there he made in 1884 -without special training- his real debut as an opera singer. From 1884/90 he was engaged at Bremen.
His favourite role was Beckmesser, in which he had a great success at Bayreuth in 1888. He performed this role again at Bayreuth in 1889 and 1899. In the festivals of 1897/1902 he appeared as Alberich in the Ring des Nibelungen and in 1902 as Klingsor in Parsifal. In the years 1890/93 his appearances were limited to a small number of concerts because of his nervous disorders.
From 1896 on he again was engaged at Bremen, but he also made many guestappearances ( Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, München, Frankfurt a.M., Hamburg, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Prague and Stockholm ). In the seasons 1899/1902 he was engaged at the Metropolitan New York, where he was successful as Beckmesser, Alberich and Falstaff (in “Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor”). He spent the last 16 years of his life in mental illness.