Announcing New Translations of The Gregory Kunde Biography

Several years ago, political writer, journalist, and opera afficionado Jose Luis Jimenez approached Gregory Kunde about writing a book on his career. Greg was flattered, but didn’t really believe that the project would really materialize. Much to his surprise and delight, however, Jimenez was serious and immediately began to interview Greg, collecting information and anecdotes to fill the book.

Fifty hours of interviews and several in-person meetings, numerous emails and shared photos, and eighteen months later, Jimenez had completed his book, first in his native Spanish. The book was entitled Una vita per cantarla (A Life Worth Singing). It’s an apt title for this story which documents the start of the tenor’s career, the move from bel canto to verismo, and other musical topics. But perhaps even more interesting are the stories of Kunde’s now well-documented battle with cancer, the behind the scenes stories of family and friends, the Gregory Kunde Chorale, and other little known facts about the tenor’s ascent to the heights of the opera world.

Now, the book is available in English and Italian translations, and can be found on Amazon. Most recently, the author and Kunde presented the Italian version of the biography to the Rome public, while the tenor was at the Opera Di Roma for his signature role of Verdi’s Otello.

Work has already begun to make German and Japanese translations of the biography available in the near future, with followers of the tenor’s career requesting additional versions of the original.

Kunde’s story is more than just another account of a personal determination to succeed. In the course of a long professional life spanning nearly fifty years, the American tenor has displayed a remarkable capacity for surmounting obstacles that destiny placed in his path, from the life-threatening illness that put his life in check, to a crisis with his voice that nearly brought his career to an untimely end before the age of fifty. Far from giving up the struggle and accepting his fate, he went into battle and won. Today, Kunde is one of the most respected performers of lyric opera worldwide, with commitment in prestigious opera houses and concerts halls everywhere.