Franz Naval

Born: 20 October 1865
Died: 9 August 1939 in Vienna
German Tenor

His real name was Franz Pogacnik. He studied singing in Laibach with A. Nedred and then in Vienna under J.Gansbacher. He made his debut in 1888 at the Opera House of Frankfurt am Main in ‘’Martha’’, during the 1895-98 seasons he sang at the Berlin Hofoper, and in 1898 at the Vienna Hofoper. At the Berlin Hofoper he was frequently performed with Geraldine Farrar.

In 1897, he sang the role of Rodolfo in the Berlin premiere of Puccini’s ‘’La Boheme’’. During 1900-1903, Naval sang in Paris. Naval sang with the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1903. In 1907 he made guest appearance at Covent Garden in “The Bartered bride”. During 1903-1908, Naval was a permanent member of the Berlin Hofoper, and in 1908 with the Berlin Komische Oper. During this period, he was often the partner of Geraldine Farrar.

Naval sang for 20 years in opera, but with diminishung success. For 30 years, He retired in Vienna where he taught singing. He appeared in the major tenor roles in ‘’Carmen’’, ‘’Cavalleria Rusticana’’, ‘’La Dame Blanche’’, ‘’L’Elisir d’Amore’’, ‘’Faust’’, ‘’La Traviata’’, and ‘’Roméo et Juliette’’.