FRANCISCO ARAIZA is recognized as one of the greatest tenors of our time. Since 1980, when he performed at the Salzburg Festival at the invitation of Herbert von Karajan, his beautiful timbre, stylistic versatility and high-class stage presence have made him one of the most soughtafter performers on opera and concert stages around the world. He is especially treasured at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Zurich Opera, with which he has been firmly associated since 1977, the Vienna State Opera, where he was awarded the prestigious title of Kammersänger in 1988, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
After his legendary interpretations in operas by Mozart and Rossini, he appeared with great success in roles from the dramatic lyric-spinto repertoire by Verdi, Puccini, Massenet, Gounod and Wagner. Among his best-known roles are Tamino, Don Ramiro, Nemorino, Alfredo, Rodolfo, Des Grieux, Faust, Werther, Hoffmann, Lohengrin and Stolzing, in productions by the most famous conductors and directors. His career has been accompanied by numerous accolades, including in 1988 the Tokyo Press Award “Best Musical Event of the Year”, the Mozart Medal of the University of Mexico, the Mario del Monaco “Otello d’Oro” Award in 1995 and the Munich Artistic Award “Golden Mercury” in 1996. His more than 50 recordings have earned him the “Orphée d’Or” and the “German Record Prize”. The celebrated singer has appeared in numerous opera films and television programs, as well as a creative portrait on Second German Television (ZDF). His illustrated monograph “Voices of the World” was published in 1988.
Francisco Araiza is also committed to supporting young singers in his masterclasses, jury participations in international singing competitions and above all in his eponymous foundation for young singers in Mexico City. Since 2003 he has been a professor of singing at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. He also teaches vocal technique and stylistic interpretation at the International Opera Studio in Zurich, and at the Bertelsmann Foundation “Neue Stimmen” (New Voices) he has served as chairman of the singing competition jury and vocal instructor. He was also a board member of the “Liz Mohn Foundation for Culture and Music” in Berlin, as well as of the European Cultural Foundation EUROPAMUSICALE in Munich and of the SIAA (sic itur ad astra – that’s how we go to the stars) Foundation for young singers in Liechtenstein. He became artistic director of the International Hugo Wolf Academy Stuttgart in 2009 and founded the New Masters of the Art of Song Foundation. In 2011, the great musician received the Medalla de Oro de Bellas Artes (Gold Medal for the Fine Arts) from the Mexican government marking his 40-year career. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from Morelia’s Universidad Michoacana San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Mexico. From 2016 to 2018, he held the Francisco Araiza Chair at the National Conservatory in Mexico City, together with Marija Vidovic and Alexander Pashkov. He also directs the Alfredo Kraus Voice Chair at the Reina Sofia School of Music in Madrid during the 2020 – 2021 academic year, together with Marija Vidovic.