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. This work, said
Paul Steinitz, "contains a good deal of imaginative music, but it was more of a Cantata based loosely on sentiments engendered by the Passion story than a liturgical Passion. It fails even to give any specific account of the trial and death of Jesus". His other works include concertos and
trio sonatas. He was known for particularly good text-setting, probably due to his background as a vocalist. 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, became an eminent 20th-century novelist. ==Works==