Friedrich Plaschke
also Bedřich Plaška
Birthplace: Jaroměř, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary
Friedrich Plaschke was a Czech bass-baritone, born Bedřich Plaška, who studied in Prague and then in Dresden with Karl Scheidemantel. He made his stage debut at the Dresden Court Opera in 1900 as the Herald in Lohengrin and remained with the company until 1937, creating five roles across Strauss's Dresden premieres: Kofel in Feuersnot, the First Nazarene in Salome, Altair in Die ägyptische Helena, Count Waldner in Arabella and Sir Morosus in Die schweigsame Frau. He also sang Pogner at Bayreuth in 1911 and Kurwenal, Hans Sachs and Amfortas at Covent Garden in 1914, and toured the United States with the German Opera Company in 1922-24. He was married to the soprano Eva von der Osten, who created Octavian.
Creations
- Graf Waldner — Arabella
- Altair — Die ägyptische Helena (Dresden, 1928)
- Sir Morosus — Die schweigsame Frau
- Kofel — Feuersnot
- Erster Nazarener — Salome
Written from
- Wikipedia (2026) Friedrich Plaschke. (Accessed: August 2026). The English article.
- Wikipedia (2026) Feuersnot. (Accessed: August 2026). The English article.
- Casaglia, G. (n.d.) 'Feuersnot, 21 novembre 1901', in L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia. (Accessed: August 2026).
- Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (n.d.) 'Plaschke, Friedrich (real name, Bedrich Plaske)', reprinted in Encyclopedia.com. (Accessed: August 2026). Names his fifth Dresden creation as Da-Ud rather than Altair; Da-Ud is a tenor role, Altair's son, and Plaschke a bass-baritone, so Altair is used here.
- Rosenthal, H. (1992) 'Plaschke, Friedrich [Plaske, Bedrich]', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 3, p. 1030. Incorrectly states that he created Jörg Pöschel in Feuersnot; other sources agree he was Kofel.