Rolando Villazón

The Mexican-born tenor’s singing career began in an unusual way: baritone Arturo Nieto knocked on his door after hearing him sing and suggested he train his voice. Villazón soon turned to opera, and his international recognition began in 1999 at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition, where he won second prize along with the Zarzuela Prize and the Audience Award. Over the nearly three decades since, he has appeared on almost all the world’s major stages, and since 2011 he has also worked as a director, staging productions such as Werther, La traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and operas by Donizetti and Bellini. The versatile artist is also popular as a radio and television personality, publishes books, and serves as artistic director of the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation. Although Budapest audiences have already seen him, his debut at the Opera House will take place in the Stars’ Recitals with Piano series, where he will conjure a truly warm, Mediterranean atmosphere within the building’s walls.