KLAFSKY, KATHARINA

born Sept. 19, 1855, Szent-Jnos, Hung., Austrian Empire died Sept. 22, 1896, Hamburg, Ger. Hungarian dramatic soprano known for her interpretations of roles in Richard Wagner's operas. Klafsky was a chorus singer in Vienna in 1874 and later studied with the singer and teacher Mathilde Marchesi. She sang the part of Brangne in the first Leipzig performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde (1882) and from 1886 to 1895 established herself as one of the greatest singers in Germany. Besides her Wagnerian roles she was known for her performances as Donna Anna (in Mozart's Don Giovanni), Leonore (in Beethoven's opera Fidelio), and Norma (in Bellini's opera of the same name).