Rolando Villazón
Rolando Villazón Mauleón is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality, and artistic director. He resides in France and received French citizenship in 2007.
Villazón has published several books, including the novels Malabares and Paladas de sombra contra la oscuridad, which have been translated into French and German. He is a member of the Collège de 'Pataphysique in Paris.
Early life
Villazón was raised in Fuentes de Satélite, a suburban area of Greater Mexico City, Mexico. In an interview for Mexican television, he recounted how he was discovered as a tenor. According to Villazón, while he was singing in the shower at his apartment in Mexico City, baritone Arturo Nieto, a friend of his neighbour, heard him singing and knocked on his door. Nieto subsequently encouraged Villazón to develop his voice and invited him to attend his music academy, where Villazón later developed an interest in opera.Career
Late 1990s and early 2000s
Villazón came to international attention in 1999 when he won second prize in Plácido Domingo's Operalia competition, finishing behind Bulgarian bass Orlin Anastassov. In the same competition, he also received the first prize for Zarzuela and the audience prize. That year, he made his Italian debut as des Grieux in Manon at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.In 2000, Villazón made his debut at the Berlin State Opera as Macduff in Macbeth. Over subsequent seasons, he performed several of his principal roles there, including Don José in Carmen and des Grieux in Manon. Also in 2000, he sang Rodolfo in La bohème in Munich. In 2002, he appeared as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi in Los Angeles.
In 2003, Villazón sang Rodolfo at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England and later appeared in the title role of Les Contes d'Hoffmann at the Royal Opera House in London. The following year, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Alfredo in La traviata. In 2005, he appeared in the same role at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and at the Salzburg Festival.
2005–2010
Villazón performed regularly at major opera houses worldwide and in concert during this period. In August 2005, he sang Alfredo Germont in Verdi's La traviata at the Salzburg Festival, in a production conducted by Carlo Rizzi and directed by Willy Decker, with Anna Netrebko as Violetta. Villazón and Netrebko also appeared together in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera, a performance that was later released on DVD. He additionally appeared alongside Netrebko and Plácido Domingo in globally televised concerts from Berlin's Waldbühne and Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace in 2006 and 2008.Vocal surgery and return to the stage
Between 2007 and 2009, Villazón cancelled a number of scheduled engagements in order to address a persistent vocal problem. In May 2009, he announced that he would undergo surgery to remove a congenital cyst from one of his vocal cords.Following his rehabilitation, Villazón returned to the operatic stage in March 2010 as Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Vienna State Opera, after which he undertook a series of recitals. In December 2012, he appeared as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Royal Opera House in London, a role he had first sung there in 2005.
From 2010 onward, Villazón undertook a number of tenor roles by Mozart in both concert and staged performances. These included Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at the Festspiel Baden-Baden, the Royal Opera House, and the Staatsoper Berlin; Alessandro in Il re pastore, conducted by William Christie at the Zürich Opera House and the Salzburg Festival; and the title role in Lucio Silla at the Salzburg Festival. His first all-Mozart solo album, featuring the composer's concert arias for tenor, was released in January 2014.
2015–present
Villazón has continued to perform at major international opera houses and has expanded his repertoire with a range of new roles. In 2016, he made his debut in Bohuslav Martinů's opera Juliette ou la clé des songes in a new production conducted by Daniel Barenboim at the Berlin State Opera. That year, he also sang his first Orfeo in L'Orfeo, a role he later performed in new productions at the Semperoper Dresden and the Santa Fe Opera in 2023.In 2017, Villazón sang the role of Ulisse in Claudio Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in Paris. He made another role debut in 2018 as Pelléas in Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, again conducted by Barenboim. In 2021, he returned to the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Papageno in The Magic Flute. In 2022, Villazón made his debut as Loge in Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold at the Berlin State Opera in a new production by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Christian Thielemann.
In 2018, Villazón was appointed artistic director of Mozart Week in Salzburg, and in 2021 he also became artistic director of the International Mozarteum Foundation, which organises the festival. His contract was extended until 2028.
Stage Direction
He made his debut as a stage director with a new production of Werther at the Opéra de Lyon in January 2011. Since then, he has directed L'elisir d'amore at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and Oper Leipzig, Viva la Mamma at Vienna Volksoper, La rondine at Deutsche Oper Berlin, La traviata at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Die Fledermaus at Deutsche Oper Berlin, La sonnambula at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and The Barber of Seville at the Salzburg Festival.Recording Career and Television and Film Appearances
In addition to his appearances on the opera stage, he maintains an active recording career. He has recorded four solo CDs with Virgin Classics and is additionally featured, along with Patrizia Ciofi and Topi Lehtipuu, on the recording of Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda by Claudio Monteverdi, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. An album of zarzuelas conducted by Plácido Domingo, was released in Spring 2007. The U.S. version of his album Viva Villazón was released in September 2007. Villazón sang "La Prima Luce" on the 2014 Yanni/Plácido Domingo/Ric Wake collaboration album Inspirato.In 2007, Villazón switched his recording company and signed an exclusive long-term contract with Deutsche Grammophon. For DG, Rolando Villazón has recorded over 20 CDs and DVDs, which have received numerous prizes. His discography includes leading roles in complete recordings of six operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
In early 2010 he was a mentor and judge in the ITV show Popstar to Operastar. From 2012 - 2015, he was the host of the German Echo Klassik awards. Since 2011, he has hosted his own programme on Arte TV, featuring the "Stars of tomorrow". He presents a daily show on Germany's Klassik Radio and hosts a show on France's Radio Classique.
Villazón appeared as an Italian opera singer in the 2024 film Cabrini.