Jesús León
Jesus Leon | |
|---|---|
Jesús León at Royal Albert Hall, March 21, 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico |
| Genres | Opera |
| Occupation | (tenor) |
| Instruments | voice, guitar, piano |
| Label | Opus Arte |
| Website | www.jesusleon.com |
Mexican tenor Jesús León is an operatic tenor specializing in the bel canto and French lyric repertoire. He has appeared in leading roles at opera houses and festivals in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. León studied at the UCLA Opera Studio, the Solti Accademia di Bel Canto, the Boston University Opera Institute, and the Domingo–Thornton Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera. He later continued his training in Italy under the guidance of soprano Mirella Freni, who awarded him the Nicolai Ghiaurov Scholarship.
Based in Vienna, León maintains an international career as both an opera and concert performer.
Early years
Jesús León began his musical studies at the age of ten with guitar lessons and later studied voice at the Casa de la Cultura of Sonora. During his teenage years, he performed in popular music ensembles while developing his interest in classical singing.
In 1996, León began formal operatic studies at the University of Sonora, where he sang as a tenor soloist with the university choir and participated in regional music festivals, including the Festival Alfonso Ortiz Tirado. He also appeared in theatrical productions and early operatic performances during this period.
Between 1998 and 2004, León performed as a tenor and pianist in sacred music ensembles and founded the vocal ensemble Cantiquo, with which he presented concerts in Mexico. These early experiences contributed to his transition toward an international operatic career.
Opera career
León’s operatic career has included appearances at major opera houses and festivals worldwide, with a repertoire focused on bel canto and French lyric roles. His stage appearances include Elvino in La sonnambula, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, Alfredo in La traviata, Arnold in Guillaume Tell, Tonio in La fille du régiment, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann.
Between 2016 and 2018, León appeared as Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles at Opera di Firenze, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, and the Seoul Arts Centre; as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at the Royal Opera House Muscat; and as Elvino in La sonnambula at Teatro Filarmonico di Verona. He also sang the Duke of Mantua at Opéra de Nice and Ismaele in Nabucco at Opéra de Nice and Opéra de Toulon.
During the 2017–2018 season, León appeared as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Florida Grand Opera, Elvino at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Roméo at Oper im Steinbruch. He also participated in concert performances at Dubai Opera and appeared regularly with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall.
In the 2018–2019 season, he performed Elvino and Edgardo at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Alfredo at Minnesota Opera, Roméo at Graz Opera, and Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
In the 2021–2022 season, León made his debut at the Opéra-Comique in Paris as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette. He also portrayed Hernán Cortés in Montezuma by Carl Heinrich Graun at the Palacio de Bellas Artes and appeared in multiple concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall. He later appeared as Arnold in Guillaume Tell with Irish National Opera.
In December 2024, León performed the role of Tonio in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment at the Klaipėda State Musical Theatre in Lithuania.
Discography (CD)
- Passione (2024), with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Toby Purser. Released by Rubicon Classics.
- His debut recording Bel Canto with Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Toby Purser, including arias by Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti and Giuseppe Verdi, was released in April 2015 by Opus Arte.[1]
- Respira - Jesús León, Tenor (Selection of Mexican and Italian songs) various composers.
Awards & Grants
- 2020 - Winner of the Vienna International Music Competition. His award-winning concert took place same year at the Wiener Konzerthaus.
- 2009 - Festival Ortiz Tirado,[2]
- 2007 - Grants from Jose Iturbi Foundation,[3]
- 2007 - The Vilcek Foundation,[4]
- 2006 - The Nando Peretti Foundation,[5]
- 2006 - The Solti Foundation,[6]
- 2005 - The Palm Springs Opera Guild
- 2005 - The American Institute of Fine Arts
- 2004 - The Opera Buffs Inc.[7] of Los Angeles.[8]
Complete Repertoire
| Year of Debut | # | Title | Composer | Role | Opera house | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1 | L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of love) | Gaetano Donizetti | Nemorino | Auditorio Civico del Estado | Hermosillo, Sonora |
| 2005 | 2 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Palm Springs Opera Guild | Palm Springs, California |
| 3 | Gianni Schicchi | Giacomo Puccini | Rinuccio | Boston Opera Institute | Boston, Massachusetts | |
| 2006 | 4 | Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) | Rossini | Almaviva (Cover) | Saint Louis Opera | Saint Louis, Missouri |
| 2007 | 5 | Così Fan Tutte | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Ferrando (Cover) | Santa Fe Opera | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| 2008 | 6 | Lucia di Lammermoor | Gaetano Donizetti | Edgardo | Riverside Lyric Opera | London, UK |
| 7 | Tosca | Giacomo Puccini | Cavaradossi (Cover) | Raymond Gubbay Production | London, UK | |
| 2009 | 8 | Carmen | Georges Bizet | Don Jose (Cover) | Raymond Gubbay Production | London, UK |
| 9 | Falstaff | Giuseppe Verdi | Fenton (Cover) | Glyndebourne Festival | Lewes, England | |
| 2010 | 10 | Tosca | Giacomo Puccini | Cavaradossi | Northern Ireland Opera | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| 11 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | West Bay Opera | Palo Alto, California | |
| 12 | Madame Butterfly | Giacomo Puccini | Pinkerton | Grange Park Opera | Nevill Holt | |
| 2011 | 13 | Maria di Rohan | Gaetano Donizetti | Riccardo | Berliner Operngruppe | Berlin, Germany |
| 14 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Opera de Dijon | Dijon, France | |
| 2012 | 15 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Theatre de Caen | Caen, France |
| 16 | Don Giovanni | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Don Ottavio | Garsington Opera | London, UK | |
| 17 | Don Giovanni | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Don Ottavio | Birgitta Festival | Tallinn, Estonia | |
| 18 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Scottish Opera | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| 2013 | 19 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Vorarlberger Landestheater | Bregenz, Austria |
| 20 | Don Pasquale | Gaetano Donizetti | Ernesto | Teatro del Bicentenario | Leon, Mexico | |
| 21 | I Puritani | Vincenzo Bellini | Arturo | Grange Park Opera | London, UK | |
| 2014 | 22 | Don Pasquale | Gaetano Donizetti | Ernesto | Tiroler Landestheater | Innsbruck, Austria |
| 23 | Rigoletto | Giuseppe Verdi | Il Duca di Mantova | Vorarlberger Landestheater | Bregenz, Austria | |
| 24 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Teatro Reggio di Parma | Parma, Italy | |
| 25 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Teatro Comunale di Modena | Modena, Italy | |
| 26 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Teatro Comunale di Treviso | Treviso, Italy | |
| 27 | I Capuleti e i Montecchi | Vincenzo Bellini | Tebaldo | Teatro Massimo di Bellini | Catania, Italy | |
| 2015 | 28 | I Puritani | Vincenzo Bellini | Arturo | Opera di Firenze | Florence, Italy |
| 29 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Teatro Comunale di Ferrara | Ferrara, Italy | |
| 30 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Teatro Comunale Alighieri di Ravenna | Ravenna, Italy | |
| 31 | La Belle Hélène | Jacques Offenbach | Paris | Théâtre du Châtelet | Paris, France | |
| 32 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Korea National Opera | Seoul, South Korea | |
| 33 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Korea National Opera | Daegu, South Korea | |
| 2016 | 34 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Opera di Firenze | Florence, Italy |
| 35 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Teatro Filarmonico di Verona | Verona, Italy | |
| 36 | Roméo et Juliette | Charles Gounod | Roméo | Atlanta Opera | Atlanta, Georgia | |
| 37 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Teatro Massimo di Bellini | Catania, Italy | |
| 38 | Roméo et Juliette | Charles Gounod | Roméo | Royal Opera House of Muscat | Muscat, Oman | |
| 2017 | 39 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Teatro Verdi di Trieste | Trieste, Italy |
| 40 | Rigoletto | Giuseppe Verdi | Il Duca di Mantova | Opera Nice Côte d’Azur | Nice, France | |
| 41 | Les Pêcheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers) | Georges Bizet | Nadir | Korea National Opera | Seoul, South Korea | |
| 42 | Rigoletto | Giuseppe Verdi | Il Duca di Mantova | Oper im Steinbruch | Vienna, Austria | |
| 43 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Amigos de la Opera de Vigo | Vigo, Spain | |
| 44 | Lucia di Lammermoor | Gaetano Donizetti | Edgargo | Florida Grand Opera | Miami, Florida | |
| 2018 | 45 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Staatsoper Stuttgart | Stuttgart, Germany |
| 46 | Roméo et Juliette | Charles Gounod | Roméo | Opera Nice Côte d’Azur | Nice, France | |
| 47 | Nabucco | Giuseppe Verdi | Ismaele | Opera Nice Côte d’Azur | Nice, France | |
| 48 | Nabucco | Giuseppe Verdi | Ismaele | Opéra de Toulon | Toulon, France | |
| 2019 | 49 | La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker) | Vincenzo Bellini | Elvino | Deutsche Oper Berlin | Berlin, Germany |
| 50 | Lucia di Lammermoor | Gaetano Donizetti | Edgargo | Deutsche Oper Berlin | Berlin, Germany | |
| 51 | La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi | Alfredo | Minnesota Opera | Saint Paul, Minnesota | |
| 52 | Roméo et Juliette | Charles Gounod | Roméo | Graz Opera | Graz, Austria | |
| 53 | The Tales of Hoffmann (Les contes d’Hoffmann) | Jacques Offenbach | Hoffmann | Palacio de Bellas Artes | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| 2021 | 54 | Montezuma | Carl Heinrich Graun | Hernán Cortés | Palacio de Bellas Artes | Mexico City, Mexico |
| 55 | Roméo et Juliette | Charles Gounod | Roméo | Opera Comique | Paris, France | |
| 2022 | 56 | Guillaume Tell | Gioachino Rossini | Arnold | Irish National Opera | Ireland |
| 2024 | 57 | La fille du régiment | Gaetano Donizetti | Tonio | Klaipėda State Musical Theatre | Klaipėda, Lithuania |
References
- ^ "Product Details - JESÚS LEÓN - BEL CANTO". www.opusarte.co.uk.
- ^ "Revelacion Juvenil. Jesus Leon, Tenor(2009)". festivalortiztirado.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-03. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "About us - José Iturbi International Music Competition - Piano Competition, Voice Competition, Music Competition". joseiturbifoundation.org.
- ^ "Vilcek Foundation Sponsored Programs Santa Fe Apprenticeship". vilcek.org. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Nurturing Classical Singers: Supporting the Solti Te Kanawa Accademia di Bel Canto". nandoperettifound.org. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Solti Foundation Previous Award Winners, 2006 - Accademia Solti 2006 Summer Masterclass". soltifoundation.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Home - The Opera Buffs Inc". The Opera Buffs Inc.
- ^ "Opera Buffs Awards $20,000 to Aspiring Young Singers". californiachronicle.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2010-02-20.