Francisco Araiza click here for Japanese version
The Mexican-born Francisco Araiza is one of the most important tenors of our time. Honored by the Vienna State Opera with the title of "Kammersaenger" in 1988, he has been a permanent member of the Zurich Opera since 1977.. He has performed in the main opera houses of the world including Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzich, Dresden, Milan-La Scala, Florence, Parma, Roma, London-Covent Garden, Paris-Bastille, Madrid, Barcelona, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, New York-Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles, Mexico, Buenos Aires and Japan. He has participated in all the international festivals of Bayreuth, Salzburg, Bregenz, Aix-en-Provence, Orange, Edimburgh, the Spring Festival in Prague, Verona, Macerata, the Rossini Festival in Pesaro, the Schubertiade in Hohenems, the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Festival Cervantino in Ganajuato, Mexico.
After establishing a reputation as the best interpreter of Mozart and Rossini, Francisco Araiza began singing the italian lyric-spinto, French and heavier German repertory. From 1983 on, he has soon established himself as a leading tenor in the roles of Edgardo, Alfredo, Duke of Mantua, RiccardIII, Don Alvaro, Andrea Chenier, Des Grieux, Fausto, Hoffmann, Werther, Romeo, Max, Don José and especially as the young Wagner heros - Lohengrin, Walter von Stolzing and Loge.
He began a long friendship with Herbert von Karajan when he made his first appearance in the Salzburg Festivas of 1980, and in the same year he performed in Die Entfuelung aus dem Serail under the conductor Karl Boehm in Munich, the last appealance in the opera of this legendary conductor. He was chosen by Karajan to record The Magic Flute. In 1983 he began the dramatic roles with Des Grieux in Vienna in Jean- Pierre Ponnelle's production of Manon. In 1985 he sang the principal role in Ken Russell's production of Faust, and he recorded it with the conductor Sir Colin Davis.
In 1988 he received the award for the best music event for his Tokyo recital. In 1990 his artistic and vocal development reached a new landmark with his first Lohengrin in the theater La Fenice in Venice, under the direction of Christian Thielemann. The public and press received it with great enthusiasm. In 1993 he sang Walter von Stolzing in Otto Schenk's new Metroplolitan Opera production of Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg conducted bz James Levine.
He has won international prises such as the "Mozart" medal of the UNAM in 1991, the "Orfpheo d'Or' of Mario del Monaco in 1995 and the 'Golden Mercure' for the best opera singer performance in Munich in 1996.
He has worked with great conductors including Karl Böhm, Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, Carlo Maria Giulini, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Neville Marriner, James Levine, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Patane, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Daniel Barenboim, and wiith the stage directors including Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Harry Kupfer, August Everding, Goetz Friedrich, Otto Schenk, Giorgio Strehler, Franco Zeffirelli and Roman Polanski. He has almost 50 recordings and video productions, for which he won the 'Deutscher Schallplattenpreis' and the 'Orpheo d'Or'. He has also recorded opera arias and Lieder as well as operetta, and popular music in The Romantic Tenor .
A pictorial volume in the series "Voice of the World; Francisco Araiza" was published in 1988.In the same year The Great interpreters Divo feachered one chapter on Francisco Araiza. Musicians Portrays was published in Munich in 1997. The German television station presented a personal portrait with the title Francisco Araiza: I am a Romantic in 1992.
Francisco Araiza is frequently invited for presentations during oficial visits in Germany: he had the honor of singing for Mikhail Gorvachev, Helmut Kohl, for the president Ernesto Zedillo, Don Juan Carlos, Richard von Weizaecker, Roman Herzorg and his majesty El Aga Khan.
Fancisco Araiza studied in Mexico City at the Escuela Nacional de Musica and the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica. He concentrated on the organ at first, but soon began vocal studies with Irma Gonzales and worked on the German vocal repertoire with Erika Kubacsek. During this time he completed his course studies in Business Management at the University of the Mexico City. As prizewinner in a West German competition in 1974, he joined the master clases of Richard Holm and Erik Werba at the Musikhochschule in Munich..
Francisco Araiza has sponsored the Francisco Araiza Voice Competition Award of the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in Mexico City since 1987. In 1996 he conducted a master course at the Music superior school in Vienna, in 1998 at the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and 1999 at the Singschul of Munich. He is committed encouraging and educating young singers.