{"id":191,"date":"2021-10-03T10:50:34","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T10:50:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/?page_id=191"},"modified":"2023-04-29T01:59:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-29T01:59:33","slug":"biography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/biography\/","title":{"rendered":"Alfredo Kraus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alfredo Kraus<\/strong>\u00a0was born in Las Palmas on 24 November 1927 and baptised Alfredo Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda del Carmen Kraus Trujillo. He was the second of the four children of Otto Kraus Polensky, from Vienna, and Josefina Trujillo Mujica, from Las Palmas. His parents introduced him to music at an early age and he began to study piano when he was four. At the age of eight, he joined the children\u2019s choir of his primary school,\u00a0Colegio del<\/em>\u00a0Coraz\u00f3n de Mar\u00eda<\/em>\u00a0(now the\u00a0Claret<\/em>). When he reached adolescence, his brother Francisco enrolled him in classes with Mar\u00eda Su\u00e1rez Fiol de Le\u00f3n, his first singing teacher. At 17, the young Alfredo joined the choir of the\u00a0Sociedad<\/em>\u00a0Filarm\u00f3nica<\/em>\u00a0de Las Palmas<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0Coral Polif\u00f3nica de Las Palmas.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Following his father\u2019s wishes, Alfredo Kraus studied\u00a0Technical Industrial Engineering<\/em>\u00a0in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, graduating in 1950. After completing his university studies, he continued his vocal training away from Gran Canaria, firstly in Barcelona, with Russian mezzo-soprano Gali Markoff, and later in Valencia, with tenor Francisco Andr\u00e9s. He continued to train in Milan, with Catalonian soprano Mercedes Llopart, his most influential singing teacher. In 1955, Kraus won a prize at the\u00a0XVI Geneva International Music Competition<\/em>. Shortly afterwards, he signed his first professional contract with the\u00a0Opera of Cairo<\/em>, where he made his d\u00e9but in January 1956 in\u00a0Rigoletto<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Tosca<\/em>. After successfully performing at theatres in France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, Kraus had his first performance in Portugal in 1958, with the legendary production of\u00a0La Traviata<\/em>, sharing the stage with Maria Callas. Alfredo Kraus continued on a brilliant career path, performing until 1999 at the world\u2019s major theatres and concert halls. His popularity resulted in two roles in Spanish full feature films,\u00a0Gayarre\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0El Vagabundo y la Estrella<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Alfredo Kraus\u2019 reviews, recordings, audio and video material and numerous admirers around the world bear witness to his vocal mastery. With his keen intelligence and obsessive daily study, Alfredo Kraus was able to choose and maintain an appropriate repertoire which, in addition to mastering superlative technique, allowed him to continue singing past the age of 70.<\/p>\n

Considered one of the greatest light lyric tenors of the second half of the 20th century, Kraus had a repertoire that focused mainly on\u00a0bel canto<\/em>. His memorable performances include\u00a0Don Giovanni, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Sonnambula, I Puritani, L\u2019Elisir d\u2019amore, Don Pasquale, Lucrezia Borgia, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Favorita, La Fille du R\u00e9giment, Linda di Chamounix, Rigoletto, La Traviata\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Falstaff.\u00a0<\/em>He also tackled late 19th century French opera, in which he was unsurpassed in works such as\u00a0Faust, Werther, Manon, Rom\u00e9o et\u00a0<\/em>Juliette, Les P\u00eacheurs de Perles, Lakm\u00e9\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Les Contes d\u2019Hoffmann.\u00a0<\/em>His extensive concert and recital repertoire, ranging from classical chamber pieces to popular songs, was complemented by an ample Zarzuela repertoire. Kraus made up for his infrequent stage performances of this genre with many studio recordings of Zarzuela and concert performances of romances.<\/p>\n

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In 1991, Alfredo Kraus celebrated35 years in his profession with a recital in the\u00a0National Auditorium of Music<\/em>, in Madrid, and received a warm tribute in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. In January 1996, to mark 40 years as a professional singer, Alfredo Kraus went on a two-year international tour, performing on major stages. The following year, he took a nine-month break from the stage after the death of his beloved wife and faithful companion throughout his career, Rosa Ley Bird.<\/p>\n

Alongside his artistic activity, Alfredo Kraus taught extensively after 1980, passing on his experience to younger generations. From that time, he alternated his performances with teaching. He was Chair of the\u00a0Superior School of Singing, Madrid<\/em>, and director of the\u00a0Alfredo Kraus<\/em>\u00a0Chair at the National Conservatory of Music, Liceu Grand Theatre,\u00a0<\/em>Barcelona<\/em>\u00a0and the\u00a0Ram\u00f3n Areces Chair of Singing\u00a0<\/em>at Madrid\u2019s\u00a0Queen Sof\u00eda School of Music<\/em>. After teaching at the\u00a0Alfredo Kraus Vocal Technique Studies Centre, Perugia<\/em>, Kraus gave master classes in Madrid, Barcelona, Santander, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Milan, Rome, Turin, Siena, London, Chicago and New York.<\/p>\n

One of his most cherished projects was theConcurso Internacional de Canto Alfredo Kraus<\/em>, inLas Palmas de Gran Canaria, which he organised from 1990 to 1999. After his death, the biennial event restarted in 2017 with the sixth competition, followed by the 2019 event and the upcoming 2021 competition.<\/p>\n

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Throughout his career, Alfredo Kraus received numerous distinctions and awards, including\u00a0Grand Cross of the Order<\/em>\u00a0of<\/em>\u00a0Alfonso X the Wise<\/em>;\u00a0Order of Isabella the Catholic<\/em>, Commander by Number;\u00a0Knight of the French Legion of Honour<\/em>;\u00a0Austrian\u00a0<\/em>Grand Cross<\/em>\u00a0of Honour for Science and Art<\/em>;\u00a0Enrico Caruso Prize, Italy<\/em>;\u00a0Metropolitan Opera House Prize<\/em>, New York; and the title of\u00a0Kammers\u00e4nger<\/em>\u00a0from the\u00a0Opera of Vienna<\/em>. He also received awards in the islands of his birth, including\u00a0Canary Islands Gold Medal<\/em>; distinction as\u00a0Favourite Son of the City of Las Palmas<\/em>\u00a0de Gran<\/em>\u00a0Canaria<\/em>; the\u00a0Can de Plata<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Can de Oro Awards for the Arts<\/em>, from the\u00a0Cabildo Insular<\/em>\u00a0de Gran Canaria<\/em>; and the\u00a0Canary Islands Fine Arts and Performance Prize<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Gran Canaria\u2019s foremost artistic ambassador of the second half of the 20th century, Alfredo Kraus died at the age of 71 in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) on 10 September 1999. In 2009, his remains were laid to rest alongside those of his wife in the\u00a0Pantheon<\/em>\u00a0of the Illustrious in the Cemetery of Vegueta<\/em>, on the island where they were born.<\/p>\n

During his extensive career, Alfredo Kraus visited 21 countries, performing in opera, concerts or recitals in 108 cities: SPAIN (Seville, Madrid, La Coru\u00f1a, San Sebasti\u00e1n, Bilbao, Oviedo, Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Vigo, Gij\u00f3n, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Puerto de Pollensa, Palma de Mallorca, M\u00e1laga, Aspe, Mon\u00f3var, Alicante, Cadiz, Zaragoza, Valencia, Arrecife and Har\u00eda (Lanzarote), Granada, Santander, Albacete, Santa Cruz de la Palma, Badajoz, Cordova, M\u00e9rida, Santiago de Compostela, Murcia, Salamanca, Jerez de la Frontera, \u00dabeda and Peralada); PORTUGAL (Lisbon); ANDORRA (Andorra la Vella); FRANCE (Cannes, Marseille, Paris, Orange, Toulouse); BELGIUM (Brussels); MONACO (Monte Carlo); ITALY (Venice, Turin, Trieste, Modena, Palermo, Como, Reggio Emilia, Genova, Livorno, Rovigo, Rome, Naples, Parma, Milan, Bergamo, Florence, Bologna, Piacenza, Mantua, Pesaro, Catania, Brescia, Bari, Lecce, Macerata, Cagliari, Busseto); GERMANY (Wiesbaden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich, Cologne, Berlin); AUSTRIA (Vienna, Salzburg); SWITZERLAND (Geneva, Zurich, Lugano); UNITED KINGDOM (London, Edinburgh, Liverpool); RUSSIA (Moscow); EGYPT (El Cairo); SOUTH AFRICA (Pretoria); JAPAN (Tokyo); UNITED STATES (Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Sacramento, Hartford, Dallas, Montclair, New Brunswick, Stanhope, Pennsauken (New Jersey), Washington, San Juan (Puerto Rico)); MEXICO (Mexico City); VENEZUELA (Caracas); CHILE (Santiago de Chile), PERU (Lima) and ARGENTINA (Buenos Aires and Rosario).<\/p>\n

Three auditoriums, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Majadahonda (Madrid) and Aspe (Alicante), and two cultural centres, in Mirasierra-Fuencarral (El Pardo, Madrid) and Tejeda (Gran Canaria) have been named after Alfredo Kraus. A primary school in Lomo Los Frailes (Tamaraceite, Gran Canaria), the Chair of singing at Barcelona\u2019s\u00a0Liceo Conservatory<\/em>, and the\u00a0Aula Cultural<\/em>\u00a0(cultural department) of the\u00a0University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria<\/em>\u00a0are also named after him. In 2000, the Opera Season in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, organised by\u00a0Amigos Canarios de la \u00d3pera,<\/em>\u00a0took the name\u00a0Alfredo Kraus<\/em>, the same year that the Spanish postal service highlighted his career with a stamp in its\u00a0Personajes Populares<\/em>\u00a0(Popular Figures) series.<\/p>\n

Three city squares (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Bilbao and Almer\u00eda), an avenue (Seville) and a pedestrian crossing (Arrecife, Lanzarote) carry the name of Alfredo Kraus. Eighteen streets throughout Spain have been named after Alfred Kraus: in Carrizal de Ingenio and San Bartolom\u00e9 de Tirajana (Gran Canaria), San Crist\u00f3bal de la Laguna and Los Llanos de Aridane (Tenerife), La Pineda (Tarragona), Santander, Zaragoza, Illescas and Navahermosa (Toledo), Cordova, Ja\u00e9n, Bail\u00e9n (Ja\u00e9n), Alcal\u00e1 de Guada\u00edra and Dos Hermanas (Seville), San Fulgencio and Torrevieja (Alicante), V\u00e9lez (M\u00e1laga) and M\u00e9rida (Badajoz). Five Associations have preserved the memory of Kraus, in Aspe, Bilbao, Buenos Aires, Gij\u00f3n, Oviedo and Seville.<\/p>\n

Every 24 November since 2003, the\u00a0Fundaci\u00f3n Teatro Auditorio<\/em>\u00a0in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has held its\u00a0Tribute to Alfredo Kraus<\/em>, a musical event to commemorate the day the illustrious Gran Canarian tenor was born.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alfredo Kraus\u00a0was born in Las Palmas on 24 November 1927 and baptised Alfredo Jos\u00e9 Mar\u00eda del Carmen Kraus Trujillo. He was the second of the four children of Otto Kraus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-191","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=191"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":759,"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/191\/revisions\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cicakraus.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}