Marcelo Raúl Álvarez (born February 27, 1962) is an Argentine lyric tenor who achieved international success starting in the mid-1990s.
Álvarez travels widely, performing with top singers in major opera houses and concert halls around the world. Since the beginning of his career in 1994, he has maintained an active touring schedule and debuted in 34 roles. In addition to his opera and solo recordings, he has made an album honoring the popular songs of Argentine tango legend Carlos Gardel, as well as an album of classical duets with Salvatore Licitra. He has won notable awards for vocal performance and is considered one of the top tenors of his generation, receiving high acclaimSeckerson, Edward. “The Rapture of Restraint, Werther, Royal Opera House, London”, The Independent, Sep 24, 2004. Retrieved Feb 9, 2009. for his passionate yet refined delivery in bel canto roles, French opera, and as of 2006, more dramatic lirico pieno (full lyric) and spinto roles.
He lives with his wife and son near Milan, Italy.
Early years Álvarez was born in Córdoba, Argentina. As a boy of five, he was enrolled in La Escuela de Niños Cantores de Córdoba where he studied music until age 17 and received his diploma in music education. In spite of this musical background, he went on to study economics at university, and for 12 years the study of music was completely out of his life. After his university studies, he became a manager of his family's furniture factory in Córdoba.Parney, Lisa Leigh. “From Furniture Store to Stage”, Christian Science Monitor, Jul 5, 2002. Retrieved Jan 30, 2009.
Repertoire
Early career Álvarez always liked singing and often imitated popular singers’ voices for the enjoyment of his friends, even winning them free drinks in pubs.Ashley, Tim. “My Other Voice is the Bee Gees”, The Guardian Unlimited, Nov 27, 2003. Retrieved Jan 27, 2009. He was 30 years old when his wife suggested that he sing opera. At the time, he did not know much about opera at all, but in 1992 he started commuting to Buenos Aires for voice lessons with Norma Risso. It was a 12-hour trip by bus, but he was determined. Ms. Risso was so impressed with her student that she told him that within five years he would be singing all over the world, a prediction that proved accurate.Pritchard, Jim. “With Heart and Soul - Marcelo Álvarez, Covent Garden’s Don José, talks to Jim Pritchard”, Seen and Heard International's Worldwide Concert and Opera Reviews, 2008. Retrieved Jan 27, 2009.
He had several unsuccessful auditions at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. By fortunate coincidence, the legendary tenor Giuseppe di Stefano heard him at one of those auditionsMaster Classes III audition for Giuseppe di Stefano, Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires, 1994. "YouTube.com" Retrieved May 30, 2010. and urged him to go to Italy. "You have good instincts; you remind me of myself when I was a young man", di Stefano told him. Turning to the other people present, di Stefano commented, "this young man sings with his heart, he will have a great career!"Hall, George. "Marcelo Álvarez, interview", ‘‘Opera’’, Sep 2004.
During this time, Álvarez had some performances in small houses in Argentina. His first stage role was as a late-replacement Count Almaviva in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia in Córdoba in June 1994.“Piano, pianissimo, senza parlar” from Rossini’s ‘‘Il barbiere di Siviglia’’, Córdoba, 1994. YouTube.com. Retrieved Feb 20, 2009. He then performed in Federico Moreno Torroba's zarzuela Luisa Fernanda“De este apacible rincón de Madrid” from ‘‘Luisa Fernanda’’ – zarzuela, composer Federico Moreno Torroba, Buenos Aires, 1994. YouTube.com. Retrieved Feb 20, 2009. with Ismael Pons at the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires, a venue that features mostly that uniquely Spanish form of musical theater. Ismael Pons invited him to perform another zarzuela, Marina (zarzuela), in Menorca, Spain the next year and recommended him to Spanish baritone Juan PonsZinger, Pablo. “Argentine Export”, Opera News, Sep 2002. Retrieved Feb 12, 2009.
In the 1980s and ‘90s, world-famous Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti held worldwide talent auditions in his Pavarotti International Voice Competition. When he came to Buenos Aires and heard Álvarez audition in 1994, he immediately invited him to Philadelphia for the finals of the competition the following year.Gurewitsch, Matthew. “A Plum Assignment for a Late Bloomer”, The New York Times, Nov 22, 1998. Retrieved Jan 27, 2009.
While still in Argentina, Álvarez starred in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at the Teatro Roma in Buenos Aires (December 1994). These early performances enabled him to cultivate his voice and acting skills, and with the confidence he gained from those beginning experiences and the enthusiastic encouragement from di Stefano and Pavarotti, he and his wife decided to sell everything they owned and move to Europe to expand his opportunities for a career as an opera singer.
Álvarez came to Europe in 1995 and was quickly involved in a whirlwind of activity. He went to Spain and performed the zarzuela Marina and then moved to Milan in July. A mere seven days after his arrival in Italy, Álvarez won a voice competition in Pavia, and within a month he had landed contracts with the Teatro La Fenice in Venice and the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.Thicknesse, Robert. “Wild bull of the Pampas”, The Times Online, Sep 10, 2004. Retrieved Feb 2, 2009. His La Fenice debut was in September of that year. The management gave him his choice of what he would like to perform for his role and house debut and he selected the challenging role of Elvino in Bellini's La sonnambula.Anthonisen, Jørn H. “Tenor Library – Marcelo Álvarez”, Grandi-Tenori.com, Sep 21, 2000. Retrieved Jan 30, 2009. Following this highly praised debut, he received offers from opera houses throughout EuropePound, Jeremy. "Buenos Arias! Álvarez's Argentinian Passion", Classic CD, Jul 2000. to perform six new roles, all of which he debuted in 1997. In addition, Italian mezzo-soprano Franca Mattiucci was his artistic advisor during this time.
Professional Career, 1995–1999 As a result of his rising popularity and enthusiastic critical praise,Christiansen, Rupert. "The Laughing Tenor", The Daily Telegraph, Sep 17, 2001. Álvarez was engaged to appear at high-visibility venues throughout the world from the very start of his career. He debuted in a demanding number of new roles in Italian bel canto and French operas, completing ten role debuts during the first five years of his career and marking his rapid ascent onto the international scene. Alfredo in La traviata and The Duke in Rigoletto became his signature roles for this time period, with 150 performances of each of them.Table listing all Marcelo Álvarez’s performances since 1994. Retrieved from German fan site Jan 27, 2009.
In 1996 he was understudy for the role of Alfredo in Verdi's La traviata in Genoa. On opening night Álvarez was in the auditorium to watch the performance when he was told the tenor was ill and he had to go on immediately to replace him. This role debut paired him with the much-admired Italian soprano Mariella Devia. Within the next three years he sang his Alfredo in houses all around the world, from Hamburg to London, Tokyo, and Vienna. At the end of 1998, his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York was in a new Franco Zeffirelli production of La traviata, alongside American soprano Patricia Racette. He also performed La traviata with Ruth Ann Swenson at the Théâtre antique d'Orange in Orange, France and with Christina Gallardo-Domas at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1999.
He was a last minute replacement for Alfredo Kraus in the role of Arturo in Bellini's I puritani in Bologna, Italy, in February 1997. His big break came in the spring of 1997 in Genoa when he stepped in for Kraus again, this time in the lead role in Massenet's Werther. The entire Italian press covered this premiere and raved about the new tenor.Innaurato, Albert. Bel Canto CD liner notes, 1998. He got the attention of Sony Classical and they signed him to an exclusive recording contract, producing six CDs in six years.
He sang his first performance as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto in Trieste, Italy (role and house debut) in 1997. Multiple productions of Rigoletto followed over the next three years in Toulouse, Verona, Buenos Aires, Brussels (a June 1999 performance at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie that was televised live throughout EuropeRTBF Radio télévision belge de la communauté française, European station that broadcast ‘‘Rigoletto’’ from Belgium, air date Jun 22, 1999.), New York, and Paris.
In 1997, London's Royal Opera House (sometimes referred to as Covent Garden, due to its location) was refurbished and performances were held at the Royal Albert Hall during construction. As a result, Álvarez made his London debut in a concert of Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix at the Royal Albert Hall in November of that year. His "debut proper" at the Royal Opera House of London was in September, 2000 in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann.Sutcliffe, Tom. “Just Short of Perfection”, Evening Standard, Oct 2, 2000. Álvarez performs in London oftenCanning, Hugh. “Marcelo Álvarez, Romancing the Tone”, The Times Online, Apr 3, 2005. Retrieved Jan 30, 2009. and has remarked that the city holds a special place in his heart because, "that is the first place that audiences shouted out my name."
Álvarez traveled to Buenos Aires in the spring of 1999 for production of the award-winning documentary film, Marcelo Álvarez In Search of Gardel.Gardel documentary. “Marcelo Álvarez In Search of Gardel”, Bullfrog Films.com, 2000. Retrieved Jan 27, 2009. The film chronicles the making of Álvarez's CD, Marcelo Álvarez Sings Gardel, which offers a modern audience the most famous tangos, while honoring the spirit and style of legendary tanguero Carlos Gardel. The songs on this album, originally recorded by Gardel before his early death in 1935, are among the oldest tangos and have a classical foundation, having been inspired by the music of Chopin, Brahms and Schumann.Azzi, Maria Susana. Marcelo Álvarez Sings Gardel CD liner notes, 1999.
2000–2015 The second decade of Álvarez's career saw continued upward momentum, both in the number of new roles added and in the types of projects in which he engaged. The majority of his professional recordings were made during this time and he continued in his demanding live performance schedule.
He debuted as Werther in Massenet's Werther in 1997, and then performed that role in a total of eight opera houses, including London, Vienna, and Munich, over the next nine years. Another role that he performed widely was Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, appearing in ten opera houses in just six years. Major houses for this role included the Met, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Zurich Opera House, and the National Theatre Munich.
In January 2001, Álvarez sang his first American recital at the Folly Theater“Amarilli, mia bella”, composer Giulio Caccini (~1550 - 1618). Recital at the Folley Theater, Kansas City, 2001. YouTube.com. Retrieved Feb 20, 2009. in Kansas City presented by the Harriman-Jewell Series which is noteworthy for introducing new singing talent to North America. Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti made his professional recital debut on the Series in 1973, followed by other notable singers making their U.S. recital debuts over the years, including Mexican Francisco Araiza (1982), Canadian Ben Heppner (1997), Peruvian Juan Diego Flórez (2002), and Italian Salvatore Licitra(2005).