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The Teatro Real commemorates the 15th anniversary of Alfredo Kraus's death

The commemorative program will offer two concerts on 24th and 25th of October, looking back on the great Spanish voice

Last September was the 15th anniversary of the death of one of the greatest tenors in history, Alfred Kraus. Coinciding with this anniversary, the Teatro Real has prepared two concerts in which the public may make their way through the most emblematic titles in his repertoir and enjoy the legacy picked up by the next generation of Spanish opera scene.             

Piotr Beczala, one of the best lyric tenors today,  will star the first rendezvous on Friday the 24th of October at 20.00 hrs. The Polish Singer will give a concert whose program comprises pieces by Puccini, Verdi, Gounod, y Massenet amongst others, and will awaken the memory of many titles, featuring Alfredo Kraus, which we will now hear through the voice of one of the best performers today.

The maestro Marc Piollet leading the Teatro Real incumbent Orchestra will start the enjoyable concert which Piotr Beczala will dedicate to the mystical figure of the Spanish tenor opening  Las voces del Real cycle for this season.
Before the concert (at 19.15hrs) two profesional singers will analize Alfredo Kraus’s personality and career. With them, the assisting public, will discover the secrets of his extraordinary voice, uncovering the keys to his vocal technique and acknowledging his intelligence in terms of his repertoire elección, appropiate, discreet and suitable at each momento, allowing him to conclude a long and rewarding career.

The next day, 25th of October, at 12.00hrs, tickets for a single Price of 12€, voices especially linked to the tenor, they will meet in a recital filled with emotion under the name of Alfred Kraus’s legacy, allowing us to hear arias and duets by Donizetti, Codina, Verdi, Massenet, Gounod and Bizet. Accompanied by Patricia Barton on the piano, with the musical participation of: Yolanda Auyanet (soprano), Mariola Cantarero (soprano), Javier Franco (baritone), Antonio Gandía (tenor), Ana Lucrecia (soprano), Simón Orfila (bass) e Isabel Rey (soprano).

They are connected in respect and admiration for  figures that have marked their careers, in most cases through lectures and training courses, with a special mention to Antonio Gandía, winner of the Alfredo Kraus singinig competition and to Yolanda Auyanet, who had the opportunity to sing together with the tenor in a gala at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, in 1996.

During the sesión, between the performances, representative pictures of Alfredo Kraus’s professional life will be projected. Patricia Kraus will close the day, accompanied on piano by Gherardo Catanzzaro and Enrico Bárbaro on the electric upright bass, interpreting a special version of the aria “Je crois entendre encore”, from the opera Los pescadores de perlas, by Georges Bizet in memory of his father.

On the 21st of February 1998, Alfredo Kraus last came to the Teatro Real to offer a concert hand in hand with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, under the direction of the maestro Rolf Reuter. That evening was closed by an interpretation of “Porquoi me réveiller?” from Werther, by Jules Massenet.