Rolando Villazón facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rolando Villazón
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Villazón during a recital at the Teatro Real Madrid, 2014
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| Born | 22 February 1972 Fuentes de Satélite, Mexico
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| Occupation | Opera singer (tenor) |
| Years active | 1999–present |
Rolando Villazón Mauleón, born on February 22, 1972, is a famous opera singer from Mexico. He is known as a tenor, which is a type of male singing voice. Rolando also directs plays, writes books, and hosts shows on radio and TV. He lives in France and became a French citizen in 2007.
He has written several books, including novels like Malabares. His books have been translated into other languages. He is also part of a special group in Paris called the Collège de 'Pataphysique.
Contents
Early Life and Discovery
Rolando grew up in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area near Greater Mexico City, Mexico. He once shared a funny story about how he became an opera singer. One day, after taking a shower, someone knocked on his door. It was Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbor.
Arturo had heard Rolando singing in the shower. He told Rolando that he had an amazing voice. Arturo invited him to his music school to train his voice. It was there that Rolando Villazón fell in love with opera.
Rolando Villazón's Opera Career
Starting Out in the Late 1990s
Rolando Villazón became famous around the world in 1999. He won second prize in a big singing competition called Operalia, created by Plácido Domingo. He also won a special prize for Zarzuela music and an audience award.
In the same year, he sang in Italy for the first time. He performed as des Grieux in the opera Manon. In 2000, he sang at the Berlin State Opera for the first time. He played Macduff in Macbeth. Over the years, he has performed many of his best roles there. These include José in Carmen and des Grieux in Manon.
In 2000, he sang Rodolfo in La bohème in Munich. In 2002, he performed in Los Angeles as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. He sang Rodolfo again in 2003 at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England. He also had great success as the main character in Les Contes d'Hoffmann at London's Royal Opera House.
The next year, he was Alfredo in La traviata at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In 2005, he performed this role in St. Petersburg and at the Salzburg Festival.
Performing Around the World (2005–2010)
Rolando Villazón performed regularly in the world's most important opera houses. He also gave many concerts. In August 2005, he sang Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata at the Salzburg Festival. This performance was highly praised. He starred with Anna Netrebko as Violetta.
They also performed together in L'elisir d'amore by Donizetti at the Vienna State Opera. This performance was released on DVD. Villazón, Netrebko, and Domingo also sang in concerts shown on TV worldwide. These concerts took place in Berlin's Waldbühne and Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace in 2006 and 2008.
Vocal Surgery and Return to Stage
Between 2007 and 2009, Rolando Villazón had to cancel many shows. He needed to find out why he was having ongoing vocal problems. In May 2009, he announced that he needed surgery. Doctors removed a cyst from one of his vocal cords.
After getting better, he returned to the stage in March 2010. He sang Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera. Then, he started a series of solo concerts. In December 2012, he played Rodolfo in La bohème at London's Royal Opera House. He had first sung this role there in 2005.
Since 2010, Villazón has taken on many Mozart tenor roles. He performed these in concerts and operas. These roles include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Alessandro in Il re pastore. His first album of only Mozart songs came out in January 2014.
Recent Performances (2015 - Today)
Rolando Villazón continues to perform on the world's biggest stages. He has added many different roles to his list in recent years. In 2016, he sang in Bohuslav Martinů's opera "Juliette ou la clé des songes". This was a new production in Berlin. That year, he also sang his first highly praised L'Orfeo. He sang this role again in new productions in 2023.
In 2017, he sang his first Ulisse in Claudio Monteverdi's opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in Paris. He also debuted as Pelléas in Claude Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande (opera) in 2018. In 2021, he returned to New York's Metropolitan Opera as Papageno. In 2022, Rolando Villazón made his debut as Loge in Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold. This was at the Berlin State Opera.
In 2018, Rolando Villazón became the artistic director of the Mozart Week festival in Salzburg. In 2021, he also became the artistic director of the International Mozarteum Foundation. This foundation organizes the festival. His contract has been extended until 2028.
Directing Opera Shows
Rolando Villazón started directing opera shows in January 2011. His first show was a new production of Werther at the Opéra de Lyon. Since then, he has directed many other operas.
Some of his directed works include L'elisir d'amore in 2012 and 2019. He also directed Viva la Mamma in 2015 and La rondine in 2015. Other shows he directed are La traviata (2015), Die Fledermaus (2018), La sonnambula (2021), and The Barber of Seville (2022).
Recordings and TV Appearances
Besides singing on stage, Rolando Villazón also records a lot of music. He has recorded many solo albums. He has also appeared on recordings with other famous singers. One album of Spanish songs, Gitano, was conducted by Plácido Domingo.
In 2007, Villazón signed a special contract with Deutsche Grammophon, a big music company. For them, he has recorded over 20 CDs and DVDs. These recordings have won many awards. His albums include leading roles in six operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
In early 2010, he was a mentor and judge on the ITV show Popstar to Operastar. From 2012 to 2015, he hosted the German Echo Klassik awards. Since 2011, he has hosted his own TV show called "Stars of tomorrow" on Arte TV. He also hosts a daily show on Germany's Klassik Radio and a show on France's Radio Classique.
Villazón also appeared in the 2024 film Cabrini. He played an Italian opera singer in the movie.
Selected Discography
- Romeo y Julieta CD (2002)
- Italian Opera Arias CD (2004)
- Gounod & Massenet Arias CD (2005)
- La Traviata CD (2005)
- Opera Recital CD (2006)
- The Berlin Concert: Live from the Waldbühne DVD (2006)
- Gitano CD (2007)
- Duets featuring Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko CD (2007)
- Cielo e Mar CD (2008)
- Georg Friedrich Händel CD/CD+DVD (2009)
- ¡México! CD (2010)
- La Strada - Songs from the movies CD (2011)
- Villazón Verdi CD (2012)
- Treasures of Belcanto CD (2015)
- Messiah CD (2016)
- Duets CD (2017)
- Feliz Navidad CD (2018)
- Serenata Latina CD (2020)
See also
In Spanish: Rolando Villazón para niños
