Juan Diego Flórez

"This fascinating Peruvian demonstrates generosity, zeal, seriousness, and propagates no false ego in his art. His joy and willingness to take risks are infectious. He doesn't need to act 'cool.' All these factors guarantee his uniqueness." The Observer (London), April 28, 2013 "His musicality and charm secure him a place among the greatest performing artists of our time." The Guardian (London), May 9, 2012 Juan Diego Flórez was born in 1973 and studied music in his hometown Lima and at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. In 1996, he made his official debut in Matilde di Shabran at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, where his expressive voice and astonishing agility caused an overnight sensation, leading him to La Scala in the same year, at the age of twenty-three. Since then, he regularly performs under the world's leading conductors on renowned international opera stages. As a top-tier bel canto tenor, Flórez has made a name for himself primarily in the leading tenor roles of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, as well as in operas by Verdi (Rigoletto and Falstaff), Puccini (Gianni Schicchi), Gluck (Armide), Mozart (Mitridate), and Nino Rota (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze). In 2007, he broke a 75-year-old tradition at La Scala by singing an encore from Donizetti's Fille du régiment, the aria 'Ah! mes amis' with nine high Cs; he caused a similar sensation in 2008 with the same feat at the New York Metropolitan. He also performs as a soloist and concert singer in works such as Rossini's Stabat Mater. In past seasons, he has been seen and heard in: L’elisir d’amore at the Vienna State Opera and the Met, Il barbiere di Siviglia in Lima, Le comte Ory at the Met, I puritani in Tokyo, Linda di Chamounix in Barcelona, Rigoletto in Zurich, Matilde di Shabran in Pesaro, Guillaume Tell in Lima and Pesaro, Les Pêcheurs de perles in Madrid, La donna del lago at Covent Garden, La Fille du régiment in Vienna, as well as in a concert in Machu Picchu with Gustavo Dudamel and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. For 2014, planned performances include: La sonnambula in Barcelona, La Fille du régiment at Covent Garden, Roméo et Juliette in Lima, La Cenerentola at the Met, Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Munich, Le comte Ory at La Scala, and La Favorite at the Salzburg Festival, as well as concerts in Marseille, Istanbul, Zurich, Geneva, Madrid, Liège, Baden-Baden, Ludwigshafen, Munich, and Vienna. As an exclusive Decca artist since 2001, Juan Diego Flórez has released numerous solo albums and complete opera recordings on CD and DVD; many of them have won awards, including the German Echo and the Cannes Classical Award. His more recent recordings include complete recordings of Bellini's La sonnambula, with Cecilia Bartoli on CD and with Natalie Dessay on DVD, Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice with Ainhoa Garmendia, Bel Canto spectacular – nominated for a Grammy® in the 'Best Classical Vocal Performance' category in 2010 – as well as a CD of sacred songs titled 'Santo' in 2010. In 2012, the DVD of Rossini's Zelmira, recorded at the Rossini Festival in Pesaro in 2009, was released, followed in 2013 by Rossini's Matilde di Shabran as a recording from the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. For 2014, his first album sung entirely in French, 'L’Amour,' featuring opera arias from Donizetti to Massenet, is planned. The Peruvian tenor has received numerous other international critics' awards, as well as the Order of the Sun, the highest honor from the Peruvian government. In 2012, he was appointed Special Ambassador to UNESCO and honored as Kammersänger in Vienna. 1/2014