Baritone. Tom Krause began his vocal studies at the school of music in Vienna. After his first performances with the Deutsche Oper of Berlin he was appointed Kammersänger of the Hamburg State Opera. In 1963 he sang Britten's War Requiem, conducted by the composer, who recommended him for a premiere of this work in the USA. He made his debut in 1967 at the Metropolitan Opera as Count Almaviva (The Marriage of Figaro) and in 1968, in Salzburg, as Don Giovanni with Herbert von Karajan, where he sang for 18 years.

   He has sung in venues throughout the world, such as Brussels' Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Vienna State Opera House, Milan's La Scala, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the opera houses of San Francisco, Munich, Chicago, Houston and Paris, and has taken part in numerous festivals (Bayreuth, Glyndebourne, Tanglewood, Edinburgh, Prague and Savonlinna). In 2001 he appeared at the Paris Théâtre de la Bastille in Parsifal, and in 2002 in the role of Moses in Moses and Aaron at the Massimo Theatre, Palermo.

   He has given performances with the most important orchestras and conductors such as Karajan, Solti, Bernstein, Ozawa, Abbado, Mehta, Giulini and Maazel. He has appeared in several films.  He has given master classes at the Curtis Institute and at the Philadelphia Academy of Vocal Arts, among others. From 1994 to 2001 he was a professor at the Hamburg Academy of Music (Germany), and is a frequent member of the jury at international singing competitions. In June 2003 he was distinguished as Doctor Honoris Causa of Music by Helsinki University. Since 2002 he has chaired the vocal department at the Queen Sofia School of Music in Madrid. His extensive discography of about 80 recordings (opera, lied and oratorio) has led to the award of various prizes: Edison, Deutsche Schallplatten and English Gramophone.

 

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