Josef Knapp
Birthplace: Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria-Hungary
Josef Knapp was an Austrian baritone who trained in Vienna, broadcast opera for Austrian Radio from 1930 and sang small roles at the Vienna State Opera from 1933 to 1935. Engaged in 1937 as a character baritone at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, he created the Front-line Officer in the premiere of Strauss's Friedenstag in 1938 and remained with the company for more than three decades, while also singing with the Vienna State Opera at the Volksoper from 1946 to 1954. He appeared at the Salzburg Festival from 1959 to 1964, chiefly in Strauss, and retired in 1971.
Creations
- Frontoffizier — Friedenstag
Written from
- Operissimo (n.d.) Josef Knapp. (Accessed: August 2026).
- Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Knapp, Josef', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, col. 1509.
- Hannoverscher Kurier (1937) 29 July, p. 8. (Accessed: 9 October 2026).
- Hakenkreuzbanner (1938) 28 July, p. 2. (Accessed: 9 October 2026).
- whoswho.de (n.d.) Josef Knapp. (Accessed: 9 October 2026).
- Wiener Staatsoper (n.d.) Spielplanarchiv: Josef Knapp. (Accessed: 11 October 2026).