Kristaq Antoniu

Kristaq Antoniu (Albanian pronunciation: [kɾisˈtac antɔˈni.u]; 25 December 1907 – 17 March 1979), also known as Cristache Antoniu (Romanian pronunciation: [krisˈtake antoˈni.u]), was an Albanian-Romanian operetta tenor, baritone, and actor. He was a People's Artist of the People's Republic of Albania.^[1]

Kristaq Antoniu
Antoniu
Born	(1907-12-25)25 December 1907 Bucharest, Romania
Died	17 March 1979(1979-03-17) (aged 71) Tirana, Albania
Other names	Cristache Antoniu
Citizenship	Romania Albania
Education	Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
Occupations	Tenor Baritone Actor
Years active	1927–1970
Spouse	Androniqi Zengo Antoniu ​ ​ (m. 1941)​
Awards	People's Artist

Biography

Born in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, to an ethnic Albanian family, he lived in Romania, graduating from the Mimic Drama College of Bucharest and the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. He acquired much of his celebrity by acting in Romanian cinema roles during the late 1920s and early 1930s.

As a concert master and operetta singer, he toured Europe with a group of musicians. He settled in Albania in 1935, and started to expand on his artistic reputation, being widely esteemed for his accomplished interpretation of classical arias and folk songs. A recording of folk songs done for the Columbia society in 1942 was largely arranged by Pjetër Dungu. Antoniu was the director of the first Albanian opera, Mrika, composed by Prenk Jakova.^[1]

Antoniu died in Tirana.

Personal life

In 1941 he married Albania's first professional woman artist, Androniqi Zengo Antoniu.^[2]

References

1. Një nga yjet artit shqiptar, Kristaq Antoniu [One of the Albanian art stars, Kristaq Antoniu] (in Albanian), Gazeta Vatra, 24 December 2015, retrieved 29 January 2016
2. New Albania. New Albania. 1989.

External links

• Cristache Antoniu at IMDb
• (in Albanian) M. Blloshmi, "Kristaq Antoniu, një nga yjet e parë të artit shqiptar", in Shekulli