Ángel Vargas’ warm and lyrically rich tenor voice is garnering attention in his native Puerto Rico and on international stages. A 2022 National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, Vargas opens his 2023-24 season with a debut at the Ópera de Puerto Rico in the role of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore. In 2024 Vargas made his Sarasota Opera debut Edgardo in Lucia de Lammermoor, and was seen as Remendado in Carmen for Opera Southwest. Next season he joins Minnesota Opera as a Resident Artist where he will be seen as Tybalt in Romeo et Juliette (and will cover Romeo), and also as Jasper/Papi in The Snowy Day.
Vargas recently completed his second season as a Gerdine Young Artists with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis where he sang the role of Spc. Rodriguez in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier and covered The Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. In the summer of 2023, Vargas received a fellowship to the Aspen Music Festival to perform the role of General Alfredo in Jimmy López’s Bel Canto and Spalanzani in Les contes d’Hoffmann, while covering the title role. His other recent roles have included Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi, Vašek in The Bartered Bride, Elder Gleaton in Susannah, and the Commissaire in Dialogues des Carmélites.
In 2019, Vargas graduated with his master’s degree from The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen King. He went on to perform as part of the Landestheater Linz Opera Studio, where he made his role and house debut as Don José in a production of Peter Brook’s La tragédie de Carmen; and was subsequently an Emerging Artist with Mascarade Opera Studio in Florence, Italy. In concert, Vargas recently made his debut with Pro Arte Musical in his hometown of San Juan as part of the concert series Nuevos Virtuosos; and sang with the Linda Hart Institute in a collaborative performance given by The Dallas Opera and Opera for Peace. He has performed opera scenes and concerts at Teatro La Fenice, Theater Rudolstadt im Stadthaus in Germany, and as a member of the Georg Solti Accademia program in Castiglione della Pescaia
Vargas reached the finals of Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition where he won the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award. He also counts among his accolades taking second place in the Zarzuela, Voz y Olé Competition in Latin America and the Festival Gegen den Strom in Bad Ems: Offenbach Grand Prix.
April 2024
