Born as Franz Oscar Natzke (as he was sometimes credited earlier in his career) at Wharepuhunga, North Island, New Zealand, he was the son of August Natzke (a native of Brixen, a German-speaking part of Italy), who had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Ōtorohanga, and Emma Carter Natzke, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who was a singer.
As a boy, the young Natzke worked on his father's farm; he was encouraged and trained as a singer by his mother. The family was displaced by the recession of the 1920s to Waiheke Island, where Oscar sang as a boy soprano in concerts. At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a blacksmith at Freemans Bay, Auckland, where he worked for 3½ years; he later worked for a phosphate company.
oscar, natzka, june, 1912, november, 1951, zealand, operatic, singer, contents, early, life, career, personal, life, references, external, linksearly, life, editborn, franz, oscar, natzke, sometimes, credited, earlier, career, wharepuhunga, north, island, zeal. Oscar Natzka 15 June 1912 4 November 1951 was a New Zealand operatic singer 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life editBorn as Franz Oscar Natzke as he was sometimes credited earlier in his career at Wharepuhunga North Island New Zealand he was the son of August Natzke a native of Brixen a German speaking part of Italy who had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Ōtorohanga and Emma Carter Natzke of Christchurch New Zealand who was a singer As a boy the young Natzke worked on his father s farm he was encouraged and trained as a singer by his mother The family was displaced by the recession of the 1920s to Waiheke Island where Oscar sang as a boy soprano in concerts At the age of 15 he was apprenticed to a blacksmith at Freemans Bay Auckland where he worked for 3 years he later worked for a phosphate company Career editWhen his voice broke he was encouraged to study overseas He became a basso profondo and soon became well known He was aided early in his career by Homer Samuels husband of Amelita Galli Curci John Brownlee the Australian baritone and Anderson Tyrer conductor of the New Zealand National Orchestra Around this time he changed his name to Oscar Natzka In 1935 he went to London England to study under Albert Garcia grandson of Manuel Garcia Jr and former pupil of his great aunt Pauline Viardot In 1938 after being discovered by opera director Vladimir Rosing he made his debut with The Royal Opera Covent Garden and went on to enjoy a career on the operatic circuit He appeared in the musical revue Meet the Navy during the 1940s and its 1946 film adaptation Personal life editHe married Winifred Jean Clements from Auckland in 1941 Natzka died on 4 November 1951 in New York City aged 39 after collapsing on stage on 23 October 1951 during a performance of Die Meistersinger at the New York City Opera His widow Winifred later married the Oscar winning American actor Charles Coburn 2 References edit Taonga New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Natzke Franz Oscar teara govt nz Retrieved 24 August 2020 admin 2 October 2017 Winifred COBURN Obituary Auckland Auckland Legacy com Retrieved 24 August 2020 External links editOscar Natzke at IMDb Natzke Franz Oscar in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Definitive collection of Natzka s recordings Meet the Navy Singing on film in 1946 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oscar Natzka amp oldid 1204654799, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
