Kraus (Trujillo), Alfredo

Kraus (Trujillo), Alfredo, distinguished Spanish tenor of Austrian descent; b. Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Sept. 24, 1927; d. Madrid, Sept. 10, 1999. He had vocal training with Gali Markoff in Barcelona and Francisco Andrés in Valencia, then completed his studies with Mercedes Llopart in Milan (1955). In 1956 he won the Silver Medal in the Geneva Competition and made his operatic debut as the Duke of Mantua in Cairo. That same year, he made his European debut in Venice as Alfredo Germont, a role he repeated for his British debut at London’s Stoll Theatre in 1957. After he scored a remarkable success in the same role at Lisbon’s Teatro São Carlo on March 27, 1958, an international career beckoned. On July 10, 1959, he appeared at London’s Covent Garden for the first time as Edgardo. His U.S. debut followed at the Chicago Lyric Opera as Nemorino on Oct. 31, 1962. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Duke of Mantua on Feb. 16, 1966. Thereafter his career took him to most of the major European and North American opera houses. He also toured as a recitalist. The Alfredo Kraus biennial vocal competition was inaugurated in Las Palmas in 1990. In 1996 he celebrated his 40^th anniversary on the operatic stage. A consummate artist with a voice of remarkable beauty, he was particularly noted for his portrayals of Rossini’s Count Almaviva, Don Ottavio, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Des Grieux, Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de perles, and Massenet’s Werther.

Bibliography

N. Dentici Bourgoa, A. K.: Treinta y ciuco años de arte en el Pais Vasco (Bilbao, 1992).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire