Arthur Endrèze, whose real name was Arthur Krackman, First studied
agronomy at the University of Illinois. The conductor Walter Damrosch
discovered his talent and advised him to study singing. He came to France in
1918 and became a pupil of the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, later of
Jean de Reszke in Paris. In 1925 he made his debut at the Opéra de Nice as Don
Giovanni. Reynaldo Hahn was enthusiastic about the voice of the singer, and
until 1929 he sang at the opera performances that he organized in Cannes and
Deauville. In 1928 he joined to the Opéra-Comique in Paris (debut as Karnac in ‘’Le
Roi d'Ys’’ by E. Lalo). In 1929 he made his debut at the Grand Opéra as
Valentin in ‘’Faust’ by C. Gounod; Here he sang in a number of world premieres:
‘’Guercoeur’’ by Magnard (1931), ‘’Maximilien’’
by Milhaud (1932), ‘’Un jardin sur l'Oronte’’ by Bachelet (1932), ‘’La
Chartreuse de Parme’’ by Sauguet (1939). On March 11, 1937 he sang in Monte
Carlo in the premiere of the opera ‘’L'Aiglon’’ by Honegger and Ibert. During the
German occupation of France (1940), as an American citizen he went to United
States. After the war, he came back to France and appeared in 1946 at the Grand
Opéra in sensational performances of the biblical opera ‘’Joseph’’ of Méhul as
Jacob. His other stage performances included Herodes in ‘’Hérodiade’’, Nevers
in ‘’Huguenots’’, Hamlet, Athanaël in ‘’Thaïs’’, Valentin in ‘’Faust’’, Iago in
‘’Otello’’, Germont in ‘’Traviata’’, Scarpia in ‘’Tosca’’, Telramund in ‘’Lohengrin’’
and Amonasro in ‘’Aida’’. After his retirement in 1948 he became a professor at
the Conservatory of Kansas City, but returned to France and taught singing in
Paris, last in Chicago. He married Jeanne Krieger-Beligne (1887-1973), Chef de
chant at the Opéra.
Chronology of some
appearances
1925 Opéra de Nice
1928 Paris Opéra-Comique
1929 Paris Grand
Opéra
1937 Opéra de
Monte-Carlo
1946 Paris Grand
Opéra
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