Alfredo Kraus Facts for Kids

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Kraus and the second or maternal family name is Trujillo.

Alfredo Kraus as the Duke in Rigoletto at his first show at the Metropolitan Opera.

A special plaque on the house where Alfredo Kraus was born in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria.

Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (born November 24, 1927 – died September 10, 1999) was a famous Spanish singer. He was a tenor, which is a type of male singing voice. Alfredo Kraus came from the Canary islands.

He was especially known for his beautiful singing in opera roles called "bel canto". This means "beautiful singing" in Italian. He was also great at playing the main character in the opera Werther. People loved his singing of the famous song "Pourquoi me réveiller?" from that opera.

Early Life and Music
A Career on Stage
His Amazing Technique
Later Life
Gallery
See also

Early Life and Music

Alfredo Kraus was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. His father was from Austria, and his mother was Spanish. He started learning piano when he was just four years old. By age eight, he was singing in the school choir. His older brother, Francisco Kraus Trujillo, who was a baritone (another type of male singing voice), also studied music and opera with him.

A Career on Stage

Alfredo Kraus first improved his singing by performing Spanish zarzuela on stage. Zarzuela is a type of Spanish musical play with singing and speaking. He performed these shows in cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

His first professional opera show was in Cairo in 1956. He played the Duke in Rigoletto. This role became one of his most famous. In 1958, he sang in La traviata in Lisbon with the legendary singer Maria Callas. A live recording of this show was later released.

Kraus made his first appearance at the Royal Opera House in London in 1959. He sang in Lucia di Lammermoor. In 1960, he performed at La Scala in Italy, which is a very famous opera house. He first sang in America with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1962. His debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York was in 1966, again in Rigoletto. This was also the role he sang in his very last performance there in 1994.

Over the years, Kraus learned many new opera roles. He sang in Italian operas like Lucrezia Borgia and La fille du régiment. He also performed in French operas such as Roméo et Juliette and Faust. He continued to be famous for his roles in Werther and Manon. He even recorded some less common French operas.

Alfredo Kraus became known for certain lyric tenor roles. These included Werther, Faust, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He was also very good at singing Spanish music. He performed many classic zarzuela songs live in Spain until the end of his career. He recorded many of these for music labels.

His Amazing Technique

Alfredo Kraus was able to sing on stage until he was in his early 70s. This was thanks to his excellent singing technique. He learned his vocal skills in Milan with Mercedes Llopart.

Kraus was also known for his very refined musical talent. He could reach high notes with what seemed like no effort at all. Many opera fans think he was one of the best tenors of the late 20th century. People admired his deep musical knowledge and his respect for his job. For him, the most important thing was to truly understand and perform a piece of music. His amazing vocal range and technique came second.

He performed all around the world. This included famous theaters like the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Liceu in Barcelona.

In 1991, Kraus received the Prince of Asturias Awards. This is a very important award in Spain. In 1997, his hometown of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria opened The Alfredo Kraus Auditorium to honor him.

Later Life

In 1997, Alfredo Kraus's wife passed away. This made him very sad, and he stopped performing for eight months. He was a proud and strong person, and he eventually returned to the stage and to teaching. He once 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."

Alfredo Kraus died on September 10, 1999, in Madrid. He was 71 years old and had been ill for some time.