About

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Arturo Chacón-Cruz (8/20/1977) 

A  native of Sonora, Mexico, is considered one of the top operatic tenors of his generation.

He established himself as a leading man appearing in the most renowned theaters and concert halls across the globe. 

He has sung over 60 roles in 30 countries.

He has sung private recitals for His Majesties Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos of Spain, as well as a concert for all the leaders of Iberoamerica, and His Majesty King Felipe of Spain. He has been featured on CNN, FOX, Telemundo, Univision, TV Azteca, Televisa,  Vanity Fair, GQ, Esquire, Opera News, People, and on most of the major news and entertainment outlets.

Notable appearances include:

The Duke in “Rigoletto” (Houston, Verona, Mexico City, Napoli, Budapest, Hamburg, Strasbourg, Aix en Provence, San Francisco, Verona, Brussels, Los Angeles, Florence)

Rodolfo in “La Boheme” (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Miami, Munich, Stockholm, Graz, Cologne, Hamburg, etc.)

Alfredo in “La Traviata” (Seville, Beijing, Munich, Valencia, Moscow, Rome, Barcelona, Padova, Mexico City, Washington D.C., Detroit, Los Angeles, Verona, Oman)

Ruggero in Puccini’s “La Rondine” (Genova, Venice, Detroit, Zagreb)

Hoffmann in “The Tales of Hoffmann” by Offenbach (Turin, Vienna, Milan,  Malmo, Munich, Las Palmas, Tokyo, Nagoya, Moscow)

Faust in Berlioz’s “La Damnation de Faust” (Mexico City’s Bellas Artes, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Bolshoi Theater in Moscow)

Verdi Requiem (Mexico City, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, San Sebastián, Ljubljana, Miami, Denver)

Werther (Barcelona, Lyon, Moscow, Budapest, Stuttgart)

Des Grieux in Massenet’s “Manon” (Monte-Carlo, Mexico City)

Don Jose in “Carmen” (Tel Aviv, Parma, Lyon, Tampere, Palermo, Zurich)

Jacopo in “I Due Foscari” (Vienna, Munich, Paris),

Macduff in Verdi’s “Macbeth” (Los Angeles, Vienna).

He has worked with star film directors Sofia Coppola (“La Traviata”, with exclusive Valentino designed costumes) and Woody Allen (“Gianni Schicchi”, available in DVD and BluRay by Sony)

These shows were internationally acclaimed with sold out performances in Los Angeles, Valencia, and Rome.

Highlights for his 2022/2023 season include a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the new Italian/American music outreach company “Opera Italiana is in the Air,” a Zarzuela concert at the Vienna State Opera, the role of Gabriele Adorno in “Simon Boccanegra,” in Palermo’s Teatro Massimo (the theater seen in “The Godfather 3”). 

He also sang a Zarzuela concert conducted by Placido Domingo in the same historic Sicilian hall.

He performed the roles of Manrico in “Il Trovatore,” and Hoffmann in “The Tales of Hoffmann” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Oronte in Verdi’s “I Lombardi” in Montecarlo, Jacopo Foscari in Verdi’s “I due Foscari” in Paris, the title role in Verdi’s “Don Carlo” with the Maryland Lyric Opera at the prestigious Strathmore Hall, as well as a reprisal of one of his signature roles, the eponymous role in Massenet’s Werther in Stuttgart’s State Opera.  He  sang  the role of  Edgardo di Ravenswood in Simon Stone’s production of “Lucia di Lammermoor” in Los Angeles, Riccardo in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera” in Maryland, Cavaradossi  in  “Tosca”  with  Florida  Grand  Opera  in Miami  and  in  Fort  Lauderdale.

Upcoming performances

He  will  sing  Calaf in “Turandot” in Strasbourg, France, Manrico in Verdi’s “Il Trovatore” in San Francisco, Manon  in  Tenerife,  Un  Ballo  in  Maschera  in  Barcelona,  Carmen  in  Liege,  amongst many  more.

Recordings

In addition to an extensive existing operatic discography, the artist’s first solo album “Arturo Chacón le canta a México,” features some of the most beautiful Mexican music ever written, and is accompanied by the Orquesta Filarmónica de Sonora. 

Arturo’s Mariachi recordings “De México para el Mundo” and “De mi Casa a tu Casa” were recently released, including a duet with his wife Venetia- Maria Stelliou. 

His first ever English language recording “A Christmas Wonderland” was released in 2021 and is available on all digital platforms as well as physically on Amazon.

Recent  releases  include  “Can’t  help  falling  in  love” ,  “Let  it  be”,  “Hallelujah”,  “Volver”,  and  “Caruso”. (singles).  They  are  all  available  on   digital  platforms  such  as  iTunes,  Spotify,  Apple  Music,  Amazon  Music,  YouTube,  etc.

Early life and Education

In his late teens, before deciding to become a full time artist, Arturo pursued a degree in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering. 

He spent 6 semesters in his native Sonora, Mexico alternating maths and physics with private operatic voice lessons and singing with Mariachis on the weekend.

In 1998 he decided to enter full time to the Bachelor in Voice Performance and Arts at the University of Sonora where on the 5th semester, he was invited  to  Mexico City with a full scholarship (eventually, the Placido Domingo scholarship) to the SIVAM foundation workshops at the Escuela Superior de Música in Mexico City.

There, he spent 3 years working with the top teachers and coaches from Mexico, Italy, and from the Metropolitan Opera, as well as performing in several concerts and operas all over Mexico and Greece.

In the fall of 2001 he received a full scholarship to pursue a Performance Diploma at Boston University’s Opera Institute, graduating in 2003. 

He went on to San Francisco Opera’s Merola Young Artists program (2003) and the Houston Grand Opera Studio (2003-2005), where he spent 2 years studying and performing leading and supporting roles on the main stage of HGO.

Arturo’s “big break” came in 2005, when he won the prestigious “Operalia” competition in Madrid, garnering the attention of many of the major figures of the opera world. This marked the launch of a successful international career.

Awards

Arturo has received many honors and awards throughout the years.

Amongst them are the Los Angeles Opera “Placido Domingo” Award in 2019, the “Moncayo Medal” 2018, in Jalisco, Mexico. 

He was also “GQ Man of the Year 2018” for Latin America.

He received the “Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Emerging Star” of 2017 at the San Francisco Opera.

He also received the “Alfonso Ortíz Tirado” medal in 2013 (Sonora’s highest cultural award), the “Distinguished Sonoran” Medal 2009 awarded by the Governor of Sonora, the “Culturarte de Puerto Rico” Award, the “Opera de Valencia” and the “Plácido Domingo Ferrer  Zarzuela” Awards. He won the Eleanor McCollum 1st Prize Award, and Audience Choice Award with the Houston Grand Opera in 2003, among many others.

Most recently, his “In Song” documentary feature, produced by the San Francisco Opera, received the 2022 People’s Voice Award in the prestigious Webby Awards.

Mentorship

Arturo mentors a few young singers, as he strives  to give back some of the lessons  and  experiences he received as a young man.

Passions, Giving back, and Family.

Another of Arturo’s passions is languages. He is fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, and French. He also gets by in, and continues to study, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Greek.

Arturo is the spokesperson for Beyond Celiac, an organization he proudly  supports that works towards a cure for Celiac Disease.

Since 2017 he has been a brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger’s formal attire.

Arturo became a US Citizen in 2010 through the “Einstein”  Exceptional Ability Green Card  granted to him in 2005.

When he is not on the road, Arturo lives in Miami with his wife Venetia and his son Stephen Arturo.

He enjoys swimming, cycling, long drives with his family, playing tennis and golf, and playing guitar.