Early life and career
After graduating from the Academy of Arts in Prague in 1950, Krantja returned to Albania and in 1951 founded the Symphony Orchestra at the National Theater of Opera and Ballet. The following decade, in 1964, he founded the Conservatory of Arts which later would become the Higher Institute of Arts, today known as the University of Arts. He was one of the initiators in the establishment of the conducting branch in the institute. Krantja's repertoire is quite extensive, featuring more than thirty premieres of operas and ballets performed at home and abroad. The first opera he directed was "Rusalka" by Russian composer Dargomyzhsky, whose success encouraged him to dedicate himself to the beautiful and difficult path of art. The added success of the opera "The Bartered Bride" by the czech composer Smetana was also noteworthy, which he conducted with the symphony orchestras of Russia, Romania and the Czech Republic. Krantja conducted the first Albanian operas "Mrika" (1959) and "Skënderbeu" (1968), as well as the first Albanian ballet "Halili and Hajria" (1963) and many other Albanian orchestral works.Notable works
* "Rusalka" by Dargomyzhsky (1953) * "Ivan Susanin" by Glinka (1954) * "The Bartered Bride" by Smetana (1956) * "La Traviata" by Verdi (1956) * "Iolanta" by Tchaikovsky (1957) * "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini (1958) * "Cavalleria Rusticana" by Mascagni (1959) * "Mrika" by Prenkë Jakova (1959) * Performances from operas: "The Marriage of Figaro" by Mozart, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky, "Il Trovatore" by Verdi (1961) * "Carmen" by Bizet (1962) * "La bohème" by Puccini (1963) * "Aleko" by Rachmaninoff (1963) * "Les pêcheurs de perles" by Bizet (1964) * The prologue of the opera "The Snow Maiden" by Rimsky-Korsakov (1964) * "Rigoletto" by Verdi (1965) * "Skanderbeg" by Prenkë Jakova (1968) * "Commissioner" by Nikolla Zoraqi (1975)Awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krantja, Mustafa Albanian conductors (music) Albanian composers Albanian male composers 1921 births People's Artists of Albania 2002 deaths 20th-century Albanian musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century male musicians People from Kavajë