Alfredo Kraus

An opera tenor renowned for favoring quality over quantity, Alfredo Kraus earned renown in his field by consistently declining any part he felt lay beyond his vocal means or outside his established repertoire. Among the roles he returned to most often, Werther stands out as one he performed repeatedly to great effect.

Born in Las Palmas in Great Canary, he began piano lessons at the age of four. By eight he had become a key member of his school choir, where his tenor voice was already taking shape. While giving recitals and participating in musical gatherings, he studied composition with Dona Maria Suarez Fiol of Leon and continued to appear in concerts and recitals thereafter. At seventeen he served as lead tenor of both the Choir of the Filarmonica de Canary Gran and the Polifonica Chorale of the Palms. These formative experiences helped him shape a distinctive style and a carefully chosen repertoire; from an early age he set clear limits on the music he would perform. His approach is intellectually engaging and invites listeners to use their imagination, and this disciplined preparation culminated in his professional debut in 1956.

He made that debut in Cairo, Egypt, singing the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. His many subsequent portrayals, especially of Werther, brought him international acclaim. After the Cairo performance he appeared at La Scala in Milan and at Covent Garden in 1959. From Milan he expanded his work to encompass the United States, making his American operatic debut in Chicago in 1962. No previous artist had created so strong an impression on the American opera scene. The precision and authority of his singing secured a New York Metropolitan Opera debut in 1966. While in the United States he took on the roles of Faust, Nemorino, Werther, Arturo, and Don Ottavio, demonstrating through careful selection the same commitment to quality over quantity.

He maintained an active schedule of concerts and recitals across the globe without losing enthusiasm for the parts he had mastered. In April of 1980 he performed at the silver wedding celebration of the Lyric Opera. Between 1991 and 1992 he returned to Covent Garden as Hoffmann and Nemorino. After more than four decades devoted to operas, concerts, and recitals, Alfredo Kraus continued to sing, refusing to let advancing years diminish his activity. Gianandrea Gavazzeni described him as a master tenor capable of perfectly adapting his voice to each role. Rodolfo Celliti, Tullio Serafin, and Giuletta Simionato likewise praised his complete excellence in both singing and acting, although critics have singled out his performance of Arie antiche with Jose Tordesillas as his least successful.