Karl Beck (1814 – 4 March 1879) was an Austrian operatic tenor who is notable for creating the title role in Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin in Weimar, Germany in 1850.
[3] At some point his singing was adversely affected by a throat infection, possibly contracted while ice skating on the Neva, and he left Saint Petersburg in 1844.
[5] In fact, the first time the second part was ever sung at the Bayreuth Festival was by Franz Völker during the lavish 1936 production, which Adolf Hitler personally ordered and took a close interest in, to demonstrate what a connoisseur of Wagner he was.
Although he was not present for the premiere, staying with his wife Minna at an inn in Zurich aptly named "The Swan", he was sent reports of deficiencies in staging and of "the unfortunate choice of singer for the leading part".
[9] Hans von Bülow reviewed the production in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik: But by the mid-1850s Beck's voice was showing further clear signs of deterioration.
[2] During his short singing career Beck performed many leading parts, including the title roles in Rossini's Otello, Verdi's Ernani, Spontini's Fernand Cortez, and Meyerbeer's Robert le diable, as well as Max in Weber's Der Freischütz and Pollione in Bellini's Norma.