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Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (24 September 1927â??10 September 1999) was a Spanish tenor of Austrian descent, and considered among the legendary tenors of the 20th century along with others like Plácido Domingo, Franco Corelli, José Carreras, Jon Vickers and Luciano Pavarotti. His best known role was the title role in Massenet's Werther
Early years
Kraus was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain. He began his musical career at the age of four taking up piano lessons, singing in the school choir by age eight.
Debuts
In 1956, Kraus made his professional operatic debut in Cairo as the Duke in Rigoletto, which became one of his signature roles. The following year, 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 U.S. debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago 1962 and his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966 in Rigoletto.
Career
In the subsequent decades, he extended his repertoire to include more Italian operas such as Lucrezia Borgia, La fille du régiment, Linda di Chamounix and La favorita by Donizetti; and French operas such as Roméo et Juliette, Les contes d'Hoffmann and Lakmé, while continuing to sing his hallmark roles of Des Grieux in Manon and Werther. He also recorded a number of rarely performed French operas including La jolie fille de Perth and Les pêcheurs de perles, both by Bizet, and La muette de Portici by Auber.
Kraus came to be virtually synonymous with such lyric tenor roles as Faust, Nemorino, Werther, Arturo and Don Ottavio.
Kraus was also known for his performances of lighter music, notably zarzuela and Spanish folk songs, which he recorded on his own label, Carillon.
Technique
Thanks to his superlative technique and careful husbanding of his vocal resources, Kraus sang onstage well into his early 70s.
Kraus was also noted for extremely refined musicianship, accompanied by a seemingly effortless high register (he is one of the few tenors to achieve a high F in "Credeasi Misera", the most difficult aria in Bellini's opera, I Puritani). As a result, many opera connoisseurs consider him to be one of the best tenors of the end of the 20th century. Several interviews with Alfredo Kraus also show him to be an intelligent man with a great deal of thought behind the artistic choices in his roles, an admirably cultivated musical education and complete respect for his chosen profession that guided his choices so that his first priority was the integrity of his artistic interpretation of a piece and not to showcase his formidable range or technique.
Recognition
In 1991, Kraus was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award. In 1997, his home city of Las Palmas opened the The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium.
External links
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