Arturo Chacón-Cruz – Rodolfo

Tenor

Portland Opera Debut

Born in Mexico, Arturo Chacón-Cruz has in recent seasons made many important international debuts.  In the fall of 2006 he appeared at the Washington Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and subsequently made his Italian stage debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Teatro Comunale, Bologna followed by appearances as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.  His Spanish debut was in Valencia where he appeared as Christian in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Placido Domingo in the title role. Chacón-Cruz added the title role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette to his repertoire for Michigan Opera Theater in the spring of 2007.  He then was heard at the Festival de Radio France in Montpellier as Marcello di Bruges in Doni-zetti’s Il Duca D’Alba.  

In the 2008/09 season Chacón-Cruz will return to Washington Opera for La Traviata and adds the title role in Offenbach’s Les Contes D’Hoffmann to his repertoire for his debut at the Teatro Regio in Turin.  He will make his Austrian stage debut in a new production of La Bohème in Graz.  Arturo Chacón-Cruz will also sing the title role of Faust for Opéra de Montpellier, join the Colorado Symphony for performances of Verdi’s Requiem, and sings Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Florida Grand Opera.

Arturo Chacón-Cruz began his 2007/08 season with a concert of the Verdi Requiem presented by the Los Angeles Opera and conducted by Placido Domingo.  He subsequently returned to the Washington Opera as Rodolfo in La Bohème, a role he also performed for his stage debut with the Los Angeles Opera and for his German operatic debut at the Staatsoper Berlin in February 2008 under Gustavo Dudamel and with Opera Pacific.  He made his debut with the Teatro alla Fenice in Venice in January 2008 as Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine. Chacón-Cruz returns to the Michigan Opera Theater for his first Alfredo in La Traviata and will appear with the com-pany in La Rondine as well.  He then debuted with the Cincinnati Opera in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas and joined Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem at the Festival de Lanaudiere.  

A protégé of Ramon Vargas, Arturo Chacón-Cruz is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera where he appeared in productions of several works including Madama Butterfly, Roméo et Juliette, Manon Lescaut the world premiere of Lysistrata and Mozart’s Idomeneo.  He sang his first Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Utah Festival Opera and his first Rinuccio for Connecticut Grand Opera.  

Chacón-Cruz has also appeared often in concert. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in March 2002, singing Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and he returned to Carnegie Hall in June 2003 to sing Beethoven’s Mass in C and Charpentier’s Te Deum with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, as well a concert with the New York Pops in 2006.  He made his debut with the San Fran-cisco Symphony Orchestra as part of the “Summer in the City” concert series in July of 2004 and in September 2005 he sang a concert of Mexican and Spanish music with the Houston Symphony Orchestra.

Chacón-Cruz has received many awards, including, First Place and Audience Choice Award at the 2003 Eleanor McCollum Competition in Houston Grand Opera, winner of Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the New England Region, and he was also a winner of Operalia 2005. He was also the recipient of the "Ramón Vargas" Opera Development Scholarship given by Mr. Vargas and Pro Ópera in Mexico.  

www.arturochaconcruz.com