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Josip Križaj

(March 5, 1887 - July 30,1968)

Josip Križaj was born on March 5, 1887 in Vevče near Ljubljana. He attended the school of Glasbena Matica, where he studied singing with Matej Hubad and was a member of Ignacij Borštnik's theatre group. In 1907 he joined the ensemble of the Theatre Slovensko deželno gledališče and made his stage debut as an actor. Some months later, in 1908, after substituting for ailing Rudolf Bukšek in Gounod's opera Romeo and Juliet, he was offered an engagement at the Ljubljana Opera House as well. In 1913 he moved to Zagreb, where he performed until his retirement, spending a couple of seasons in-between in Osijek, Belgrade and Ljubljana. He made guest appearances in Dresden, Bratislava, Frankfurt, Venice, Florence, Trieste, Rome and Vienna. When Richard Strauss himself conducted a performance of The Rosenkavalier on October 11, 1916, in Zagreb, he was most of all impressed by Križaj's portrayal of Baron Ochs. The famous Russian actor Konstantin S. Stanislavski admired Križaj in the role of Kecal in Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride when he heard him in Zagreb in 1922. Križaj sang Kecal about 250 times, in 17 cities, among others with Czech sopranos Emmy Destinn and Jarmila Novotná. Throughout his years in Zagreb, he was admired and praised for his rich voice and exceptional dramatic talent. After a very successful performance of Boris Godunov, the Zagreb press referred to him as „our Chaliapin”. He last appeared on stage in 1957 as Ferrando in Verdi’s Troubadour. Later he worked as a stage director. He died on July 30, 1968, in Zagreb.