Karel Burian

Karel Burian (also Carl Burrian) (12 January 1870 – 25 September 1924) was a Czech operatic tenor who had an active international career spanning the 1890s to the 1920s.

However, a professor at the university heard his voice and encouraged him to pursue an operatic career, putting him in touch with Pivoda for lessons.

The very next day, he portrayed the title role in Smetana's Dalibor to such outstanding success that he was offered a long-term contract with the Brno Opera.

However, he sang only one other major role with the company, Manrico in Giuseppe Verdi's Il trovatore, before joining the opera house in Reval for the 1892/1893 season.

While there, he sang (among other things) in the world premieres of Karl von Kaskel's [de] Sjula (1895) and Arnold Mendelssohn's Elsi, die seltsame Magd (1896).

[6] In 1920, Burian mistakenly drank bleach, believing it to be mineral water, and suffered severe burns to his mouth and larynx.

[7] He was known for his powerful stage presence, and according to the music critic Desmond Shawe-Taylor, his voice was praised for its "golden quality" and the "penetrating clarity" of its tone.