Events0 results
About
Argentine-Australian baritone José Carbó is one of the most exciting operatic artists of his generation. Consistently praised for his smooth, rich, powerful voice, thrilling top notes and magnetic stage presence, José has performed in the leading houses of the world including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real Madrid, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Seattle Opera and Opera Australia. 2020 engagements include Germont (La traviata) for Opera Australia, Scarpia (Tosca) for Opera Queensland and Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte) for West Australian Opera.
His triumphant Verdi debut in 2013 as Renato in Un ballo in Maschera for Opera Australia (described by the Sydney Morning Herald as “an object lesson in Verdi singing”) led to further important Verdi role debuts including the title role in Rigoletto, Rodrigo in Don Carlo and his now-signature role of Germont in La traviata, earning him the reputation of “Australia’s leading Verdi lyric baritone” (Limelight Magazine).
In 2018, José toured Australia with superstar Sumi Jo and sang Germont (opposite Corinne Winters) for Opera Australia; he returned to OA in 2019 as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) and made his role début as Baron Scarpia (Tosca) for Opera Queensland. In 2017, he sang Germont opposite Ermonela Jaho and Alfio/Tonio (Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci) for Opera Australia – receiving Helpmann Award and Green Room Award nominations for his work. Other recent appearances include Riolobo (Florencia en el Amazonas) for Los Angeles Opera, Germont and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) - both opposite Jessica Pratt - for Victorian Opera and Zurga (The Pearlfishers) for Opera Australia. In 2015, José joined the roster of principal artists at the Metropolitan Opera.
Before moving into more dramatic repertoire, José sang his then-signature role of Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at Seattle Opera (in his 2011 US debut), Teatro Real Madrid, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and State Opera of South Australia. He made his European debut in 2005 at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro and his La Scala debut in 2009 in Il viaggio a Reims. In 2012, he won a Helpmann Award for his portrayal of Fritz Die tote Stadt with Opera Australia. Other roles include the title role in Don Giovanni, Belcore L’elisir d’amore, Count Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello La bohème, Silvio Pagliacci, Escamillo Carmen, Dandini Cenerentola, Lescaut Manon, Don Alfonso Così fan tutte and Tomsky Pique Dame.
On the concert platform with the major orchestras of Australia, New Zealand and Japan, José has sung Beethoven Symphony No. 9, Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, Carl Orff Carmina Burana, Rachmaninoff The Bells, Fauré Requiem, Brahms Eines Deutsches Requiem, Ralph Vaughan-Williams Mass in C minor, Mendelssohn Paulus and Elgar The Dream of Gerontius.
José’s debut album My Latin Heart (released by ABC Classics) was nominated for the ARIA Classical Record of the year and debuted at No. 1 on the Limelight Magazine Classical Music charts. He also appears on DVD/Blu-Ray and CD as Marcello for Opera Australia and on CD in Classical Spectacular with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
