| Carl Heinrich Graun | |
| Birth Date: | 7 May 1704 |
| Birth Place: | Wahrenbrück, Electorate of Saxony |
| Nationality: | German |
| Education: | Kreuzkirche, Dresden |
| Occupation: | composer, tenor |
| Years Active: | 1726–1756 |
| Known For: | most important German composer of Italian opera of his time, along with Johann Adolph Hasse |
| Notable Works: | Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great |
| Relatives: | Johann Gottlieb Graun (brother) |
| Spouse: | two |
| Children: | one daughter, four sons |
Carl Heinrich Graun (7 May 1704 – 8 August 1759) was a German composer and tenor. Along with Johann Adolph Hasse, he is considered to be the most important German composer of Italian opera of his time.[1]
Graun was born in Wahrenbrück in the Electorate of Saxony. In 1714, he followed his brother, Johann Gottlieb Graun, to the school of the Kreuzkirche, Dresden, and sang in the Dresdner Kreuzchor and the chorus of the Opernhaus am Zwinger. He studied singing with Christian Petzold and composition with (1664–1728). In 1724, Graun moved to Braunschweig, singing at the opera house and writing six operas for the company. In 1735, Graun moved to Rheinsberg in Brandenburg, after he had written the opera Lo specchio della fedeltà for the marriage of the then crown prince Frederick (the Great) and Elisabeth Christine in Schloss Salzdahlum in 1733. He was Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great from his ascension to the throne in 1740 until Graun's death nineteen years later in Berlin.
Graun wrote a number of operas. His opera Cesare e Cleopatra inaugurated the opening of the Berlin State Opera (Königliche Hofoper) in 1742. Montezuma (1755) was written to a libretto by King Frederick. His works are rarely played today, though his passion cantata Der Tod Jesu (The Death of Jesus, 1755) was frequently performed in Germany for many years after his death. His other works include concertos and trio sonatas. He was known for particularly good text-setting, probably due to his background as a vocalist.[2]
He married twice and had a daughter, who became a singer, from his first marriage and four sons from his second. His great-great-great-great-grandson, Vladimir Nabokov,[3] became an eminent 20th-century novelist.