Alfredo Kraus
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Alfredo Kraus
(b Las Palmas, 24 Sept 1927). Spanish tenor. He made his début in Cairo in 1956 as the Duke (Rigoletto) and his Covent Garden début was in 1959 (opposite Sutherland in Lucia di Lammermoor). The next year he sang at La Scala, and his Met début was in 1966 (in Rigoletto). A smooth lyric tenor of fine taste, he is much admired for the elegance and stylishness of his singing.
AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music :
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Alfredo Kraus
Biography
A leading lyric tenor of his generation, Alfredo Kraus parlayed his vocal and artistic gifts into one of the longest and best managed careers in recent memory. Always careful -- both in choice of roles and in the regulation of his performing schedule -- not to overextend himself, he achieved a degree of consistency and longevity that kept him active professionally well into his sixties, always applauded for his youthful tone and delivery. Among his vocal assets were an admirable top extension -- which included an enviable D above high C -- a warm tone, and an instinctive feel for the shape of phrases, especially in French repertory. He, Carlo Bergonzi, and Nicolai Gedda were noted for their style, refinement, and musicianship in an era when, especially in Italian opera, tenors often neglected such qualities. He starred in the title role of Viladamot's 1959 film Gayarre, a biography of the famous Spanish tenor.While he studied music as a youngster, Kraus had no intention of becoming a professional singer, until friends and family began encouraging him to do so. In taking up vocal studies, Kraus avoided heavier repertory and focused on the bel canto tenore di grazia parts that he knew were right for his voice. At the age of 28, he won first prize at the Geneva Competition, and a representative of the Cairo Opera, who was present at the auditions, offered him the role of the Duke in Rigoletto; he made his professional opera debut at the Cairo Opera in that role in 1956. His great success there was followed by equally gratifying appearances in Venice, Turin, and Barcelona, and in 1958, he appeared in La Traviata with Maria Callas in Lisbon -- the Lisbon Traviata. In 1959, he sang Arturo in I Puritani for the first time, made his La Scala and Covent Garden debuts, followed by his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1965 and Salzburg debut in 1968. In Rome, he sang his first Werther, a role that, like Arturo, was to become one of his signatures.
Aside from his fine sense of the musical nuance and phrasing, his portrayal of the mentally unstable, morbid, masochistic, and manipulative character of Werther has been acclaimed as one of the most effective and insightful readings ever. During the 1980s, he began to limit the number of his performances even further (at the peak of his career, he never sang more than 50 in a year), and started to turn his attention to teaching, although even in the 1990s he still had an active performing schedule. Kraus died on September 10, 1999, after an extended illness. ~ All Music Guide, Rovi
Discography
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Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Alfredo Kraus
Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (24 November 1927 – 10 September 1999) was a distinguished Spanish tenor of partly Austrian descent, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles.[1] He was also considered an outstanding interpreter of the title role in Massenet's opera Werther, and especially of its famous aria, "Pourquoi me réveiller?"[2]
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Early years
Kraus was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of Spain. He began his musical career with piano lessons at the age of four, and he sang in the school choir by age eight. His older brother, Francisco Kraus Trujillo, a baritone, studied music and opera alongside him.
Career
After refining his technique singing Spanish zarzuela on stage in Madrid and Barcelona, Kraus made his professional operatic debut in Cairo during 1956 as the Duke in Rigoletto, which became one of his signature roles. In 1958, he sang Alfredo at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon in a production of La traviata with Maria Callas, a live recording of which was later released.
Kraus made his Covent Garden debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in 1959 and his La Scala debut as Elvino in La sonnambula in 1960. He made his American debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1962, and his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966 in Rigoletto, the role of his last performance there in 1994.
In subsequent decades, Kraus extended his repertoire to include more Italian operas such as Lucrezia Borgia, La fille du régiment, Linda di Chamounix, Don Pasquale and La favorita by Donizetti; and French operas such as Roméo et Juliette, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Faust and Lakmé, while continuing to sing his hallmark roles of Werther and of Des Grieux in Manon. He also recorded a number of rarely performed French operas including La jolie fille de Perth and Les pêcheurs de perles, both by Georges Bizet, and La muette de Portici by Daniel Auber. He also performed in some very well known works, such as Don Giovanni and Faust.
Kraus came to be virtually synonymous with such lyric tenor roles as Werther, Faust, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Nemorino, and Arturo. He was also known for his performances of Spanish music, notably many classics from the zarzuela repertoire, which he continued to perform live on stage in Spain until the end of his career, and many of which he recorded complete for EMI Spain as well as for his own label, Carillon.
Technique
Thanks to his superlative technique and careful husbanding of his vocal resources, Kraus sang onstage until his early 70s. He studied voice technique in Milan with Mercedes Llopart.
Kraus was also noted for extremely refined musicianship, accompanied by a seemingly effortless high register. As a result, many opera connoisseurs consider him to be one of the best tenors of the end of the 20th century. He was admired for his cultivated musical education and his complete respect for his chosen profession. His first priority was the integrity of his artistic interpretation of a piece, rather than his formidable range and excellent technique.
He performed all over the world, including the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, and the Liceu in Barcelona.
In 1991, Kraus was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award. In 1997, his home city of Las Palmas opened The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in his honor.
Later years
The loss of his wife in 1997 affected Kraus so deeply that he stopped performing for eight months. A proud and strong-willed man, he eventually returned to the stage and to teaching. He said, "I don't have the will for singing but I must do it, because, in a sense, it is a sign that I have overcome the tragedy. Singing is a form of admitting that I'm alive."
Kraus died on 10 September 1999 in Madrid, at the age of 71, after a long illness.
Complete repertoire
Main article: Repertoire of Alfredo Kraus
References
- ^ Kozinn, Allan (September 11, 1999). "Obituary: Alfredo Kraus". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/11/arts/alfredo-kraus-lyric-tenor-revered-for-phrasing-was-71.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print.
- ^ Matheopoulos, Helena (1989). Bravo - The World's Great Male Singers Discuss Their Roles. Victor Gollancz Ltd.. pp. 111–116.
- Forbes, Elizabeth, Obituary: Alfredo Kraus, The Independent, September 14, 1999.
- Hamilton, David. (1987). The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to the World of Opera. New York, London, Toronto, Sydney, Tokyo: Simon and Schuster. p. 182. ISBN 0-671-61732-X.
- Sadie, Stanley and Christina Bashford. (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. p. 1039 ISBN 0-935859-92-6.
- Sadie, Stanley and John Tyrrell. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Vol. 13, p. 874-5. ISBN 0-333-60800-3.
- Rosenthal, Harold and John Warrack. (1979, 2nd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London, New York and Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 265. ISBN 0-19-311318-X.
- Warrack, John and Ewan West. (1996 3rd ed.). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 271. ISBN 0-19-280028-0.
External links
- The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium
- Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
- Biography and discography (in Spanish)
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Oxford Grove Music Encyclopedia
The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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AMG AllMusic Guide to Classical Music
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Mentioned in
Alfredo Kraus
(Easy Listening Artist, '90s, 2000s)
Alfredo Kraus: Live in Las Palmas 1995
(Music Film)
La Favorita
(1971 Theater Film)
Rigoletto
(1987 Theater Film)
Lucrezia Borgia
(1977 Music Film)
» More