Arturo Chacón-Cruz

Biography

Arturo Chacón-Cruz, a native of Sonora, Mexico, has established himself in recent years as a leading tenor with exciting debuts and appearances at renowned theaters and concert halls across the globe. Since winning Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Singing Competition in 2005, Arturo’s career has seen a successful steady development and his repertoire spans from lyric roles from Bellini and Donizetti to Puccini and Verdi. Some of his more sought after roles are: Jacopo Foscari, Gabriele Adorno, B.F. Pinkerton, Rodolfo, the Duke of Mantua, Alfredo, Hoffmann, Werther and Romeo to name a few.

Arturo has received many honors and awards for his work, most recently the highly prestigious Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Medal in Mexico, and was invited to perform a solo concert with the Orquesta Filarmonica de Sonora, featuring Opera Arias and Mexican songs, in Alamos, Sonora. In addition to an impressive existing discography, the artist’s first solo CD, entitled Arturo Chacón le canta a México, featuring some of the most beautiful Mexican music ever written and accompanied by his hometown orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Sonora. It was released on the Naxos Label in May 2014. Arturo shares a long and important relationship with two of the reigning tenors of our day, Plácido Domingo and Ramón Vargas. Since discovering Arturo in 2000, Plácido Domingo has remained a friend and mentor of the younger artist, and the two have shared the operatic stage and concert platform many times. Arturo was awarded the Plácido Domingo Scholarship and Mr. Domingo himself helped launch Arturo’s international career after Arturo’s success in the Operalia Competition. Arturo also enjoys a nurturing friendship with Ramón Vargas who became a mentor, teacher and friend of Arturo after he won the “Vargas Pro Opera” grant in 2005.

In the 2011/2012 season, Arturo made his La Scala di Milano debut as Hoffmann. During the 2012/2013 season, Arturo made a role debut as Gabriel Adorno in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra with a house debut at Göteborg Opera. The season also included appearances at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, a debut at the Festival Aix-en-Provence as the Duke in Rigoletto (directed by Robert Carsen with live broadcast on Arte and DVD/BlueRay comercial recording). He also returned to Malmö Opera for a role debut as Roberto in Puccini’s Le Villi (in concert with CD recording).

He made a role debut as Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at the Teatro del Palacio de Bellas Artes, México, and a house debut at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels as the Duke of Mantua. He returned to Vienna’s Theater an der Wien the summer of 2014 for La Traviata, in a controversial Peter Konwitschny production. As well as a last minute jump in for the opening night of the Festival season of the Munich Bavarian State Opera as Alfredo in La Traviata opposite Diana Damrau. Most recently Arturo reprised the role of Alfredo in La Traviata in Los Angeles opposite Nino Machaidze as Violetta and Placido Domingo as Germont. The tenor was heard as Jacopo Foscari in Verdi’s I due Foscari at Theater an der Wien in Vienna opposite Plácido Domingo under the baton of James Conlon, as the Duke of Mantua in León Guanajuato and in Strasbourg, France, in a Verdi Gala at the Festival Cervantino in Mexico, in the title role of Les contes d'Hoffmann in Tokyo (NNT), in Florencia en el Amazonas in Los Angeles and with Rigoletto in Mexico City, Carmen in Hamburg, Lyon and - in a concert version- in Israel and with La Boheme in Macerata, Gianni Schicchi in Los Angeles, Werther in Budapest. He also appeared in concert with a role debut of Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele with the Collegiate Chorale for a return to Carnegie Hall.

In 2012 he made a debut at the Bolshoi Theatre as Alfredo in La Traviata. In 2016 he took part in the Bolshoi Theatre production of La Damnation de Faust, singing the role of Faust.