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Ramón Vargas

About this Artist

RAMÓN VARGAS is one of the most acclaimed tenors of the day and has been praised internationally for his appearances in the world's leading theaters such as the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Bastille in Paris, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Teatro San Carlo, Naples, Zurich Opera, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Comunale, Bologna and many others.

Ramón began the 2001/2002 season in Vienna returning as Roberto in Robert Devereux and to the Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème and the Duke in Rigoletto. Mr. Vargas made his Athens debut as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and returned to Vienna for Tales of Hoffmann. Ramón sang the Verdi Requiem in Rome at Santa Cecilia. In Munich, Vargas performed Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera and later in the season in the title role of Don Carlo. Ramón returned to Covent Garden as Rodolfo in La bohème. He was also heard in recital in Lisbon.

The 2000/2001 season commenced with performances of Rigoletto at La Scala. Mr. Vargas made his debut in the title role of Robert Devereux in Vienna and in the title role of Don Carlo in Washington DC and in Houston. The artist returned to La Scala in February for Rigoletto . Ramón returned to New York as Alfredo in La Traviata. Then to Chicago for Rigoletto. Mr. Vargas went on tour with the Metropolitan Opera in Japan performing Rigoletto and Der Rosenkavalier. In concert, Ramón Vargas performed Verdi's Requiem with the Friends of Music in Vienna, with La Scala, in Graz and also with the Met in Japan. That summer Vargas performed Rigoletto and La Traviata in Verona.

The 1999/2000 season included La bohème at Covent Garden, Lucia di Lammermoor at the Met, and La Traviata at the Bastille and in Munich. He debuted with the San Francisco Opera in Lucia di Lammermoor. Mr. Vargas also performed at the Vienna State Opera. Earlier that season in Los Angeles and Houston he sang Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore. Ramón made his debut in the role of Lensky in Eugene Onegin in Florence.

Born in Mexico City, Ramón Vargas made his professional debut in 1983 in Puccini's Il Tabarro and was also heard as Fenton in Falstaff, as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and as Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress. In 1986 Vargas won the Enrico Caruso Competition in Italy, the first of many such awards, and then joined the Lucerne Opera where he debuted many important roles of his repertoire such as the title role in Werther and Elvino in La sonnambula. His important international debuts quickly followed. Vargas was heard at the Vienna State Opera in Die Zauberflöte, Falstaff (under Ozawa) and Maria Stuarda, at the Teatro dell'Opera as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, at the Zurich Opera in Fra Diavolo and at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna in Mose. He appeared in Marseilles in Lucia di Lammermoor and was first heard at the Opera National de Paris in Rossini's Stabat Mater under Chung. Vargas also participated in the revival of Bellini's rarely staged Zaira in Catania.

In 1992 Vargas made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Lucia di Lammermoor opposite June Anderson. He made his La Scala debut in 1993 as Fenton in a new production of Falstaff conducted by Riccardo Muti. Vargas has returned regularly to the Met for other roles including Almaviva and the Duke in Rigoletto. He has returned to La Scala for La Traviata under Riccardo Muti and appeared with La Scala in Japan in the same work. In the role of Alfredo Germont he made his debuts at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, Bavarian State Opera, Hamburg State Opera, and Bonn Opera. Vargas was first heard at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1995 as Fernando in La Favorita and that same year bowed at the Arena di Verona in 1995 in Rigoletto. The artist has also been heard in Los Angeles in L'elisir d'amore, in Genoa in Werther and Elisir, in Houston as Faust, as Elvino in San Diego, and as Nemorino in Vienna. Vargas has appeared in several roles in Genoa including Nemorino and Werther and appeared at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples as Rodolfo in La bohème. In the autumn of 1996 Vargas made his stage debut in Paris in a new production of Rigoletto at the Opera Bastille and also returned to Covent Garden in the same work in 1997. Vargas returned to the Metropolitan Opera for a new production of La Cenerentola, a work never before performed at the Metropolitan, in the fall of 1997 opposite Cecilia Bartoli and conducted by James Levine. The artist then appeared at the Opera National de Paris in the new production of La traviata opposite Angela Gheorghiu and conducted by James Conlon. Vargas was also heard at the Metropolitan in L'elisir d'amore and subsequently added the role of Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera to his repertoire at the Palacio de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Vargas will return to the Vienna State Opera for Lucia di Lammermoor with Edita Gruberova. At La Scala the artist was also heard in solo recital. He returns yearly to his native Mexico where he has been heard in numerous roles including the title role in La Clemenza di Tito and most recently Werther and Lucia.

Ramón Vargas is a featured artist with BMG and has recorded Rossini's Tancredi and Bellini's I Capuelti ed I Montecchi, Massenet's Werther, and also many solo albums. Vargas also appears as Fenton in the Sony Classical recording of Falstaff under Muti, in Zaira for Nuova Era and in Otello with Placido Domingo for DG. Other recordings include La Favorita in the original French version and Il Turco in Italia on London/Decca.