Carlos Almaguer Villalobos, Baritone

Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Medal 2012

Carlos Almaguer was born in Mexico City. He got involved in the music business at a very young age. He learned to play several musical instruments and trained with Francisco Amador, his first singing professor. At age 18, he won the third prize at the Carlo Morelli Singing Contest, in Mexico City, and in 1994 he won first place at that very same opera competition. Then he traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to participate at the Francisco Viñas Competition and received a grant to study in Siena, Italy.

Almaguer met in Spain the great baritone Vicent Sardinero; his singing and advanced vocal professor for over seven years (1996-2003). He began a winning streak in many international competitions in Spain, such as the Francisco Viñas, Jaume Aragall, Julian Gayarre and Francisco Cuart contests; and the Velviers competitions in Belgium and Portugal. Don Vicente Sardinero introduced him to his current agent, Luisa Petrov, who hired him immediately and arranged a series of performances in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Athens, Romania, Bulgaria, Australia, Switzerland, Vienna, China, the United States, Israel, England and Chile. He sang the most important baritone roles in Cavalleria Rusticana, Lucia di Lamermoor, Aida, Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Trovatore, I pagliacci, Luisa Miller, Ballo in Maschera, Andrea Chenier, Fanciulla del West, Il Tabarro, Attila, Nabucco, Otello, Tosca, Simon Boccanegra and Macbeth, achieving great success in his performances

The singer has performed in the Opera Frankfurt, Altes Theater in Leipzig, Trapani Festival, Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg, the Strasbourg Opera, Toulon, Marseille, Arena di Verona, Berne Opera, Vienna Opera, Bologna, Torino, Avenches Arena, Carnegie Hall, Budapest, Bucarest and Kanasawa operas; also in Montpellier, Nantes, Melbourne, Athens Opera, Mexico Opera, Liceu Barcelona, Pamplona, Cordova, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Wallonie Opera in Liége, Covent Garden (Royal Opera House) and at the Teatro Municipal in Chile.

 

We can find among his future commitments concerts at the Metropolitan Opera House (Nabucco), Tosca (Scarpia), in Pekin, Rigoletto in Humburg and Israel, and La Battaglia di Legnano in Humburg, Trovatore (Conte di Luna) Marsella and Aida (Amonasro) in Toulon.

Almaguer was awarded with the Critics Award in Mexico for best Mexican singer overseas.