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The American tenor, Diego Valdez, started his formal vocal training with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of North Texas (August 2012-May 2017) under soprano Molly Fillmore, where he had the opportunity in his final year of participating in a master-class with renowned tenor Stephen Costello. During his training as a young artist, he has also been able to be a part of master-classes with singing artists such as Karen Slack and Barrington Lee, as well as acclaimed conductors and pianists like Tony Manoli and Michael McMahon. Early in his training, he sang roles such as Basilio in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Mr. Erlanson in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, (University of North Texas, March 2017)) as well Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He obtained his Master of Music degree in Voice and Opera from Schulich School of Music of McGill University in Montreal, Canada (August 2017-May 2019), where he studied under tenor John Mac Master, and was the recipient of the Shapiro Opera Scholarship and Graduate Excellence Fellowship.
Diego Valdez has been a young artist singing chorus and concerts of scenes and song with Opera North, Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with International Lyric Academy, as well as being a guest artist with Drake Opera in New Hampshire as Fenton in Falstaff. While abroad in Montreal, he took on romantic tenor roles such as Tamino in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as the conflicted Chevalier de la Force in Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites (Opera McGill, March 2018). He’s stepped in to crossover roles like that of Anthony in Light Opera of Montreal's production of Sweeney Todd, and ventured into the music of living composers when he was a part of the first Opera.Ca Summit (now the Association for Opera in Canada), premiering part of a new work by James Garner as Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing.
Diego Valdez is currently based in Brooklyn, New York. His New York performances stretched his repertoire from the Baroque, as the title character in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’plisse in Patria with Dell’arte Opera Ensemble (August 2022), to his appearances as Gregorio, Un Famiglio di Romeo and cover of Il Cantatore in the rarely-performed verismo opera Giulietta e Romeo by Zandonai with Teatro Grattacielo in New York (June 2021). Furthering the exploration, he was able to perform the role of Javier in Torroba’s beloved Zarzuela, Luisa Fernanda in his hometown as a guest artist with Opera UTEP. The momentum of his Fall/Winter 2021 season brought him to the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice as Fritz in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz with Teatro Grattacielo (November 2021) and covering the role in their main production at LaMama in NYC, covering Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore with Opera in Williamsburg, and singing with New Amsterdam Opera as Manfredo in Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani. (October 2021). **Coming out of 2020-2021 he appeared in the winter session of Quarantine Sing! as the tenor soloist in George Frideric Handel's Messiah, as well as a Spanish-language master-class with Dr. Maya Hoover and pianist Jose Melendez through The Art Song Preservation Society of New York.
Diego Valdez has been recognized as an “accomplished young voice” (Eli Jacobsen | Parterre Box) with a knack for quick learning on “few days’ notice and [singing] with proficiency” (Eric Mayers | Opera News) as he made his way around the world this past year. After rounding out the 2022 season with concert work, performing the Evangelist in J.S. Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium BWV 248 with I Cantori di Carmel, he will start off 2023 by reprising the role of Don Ottavio in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni with Light Opera of New Jersey in the acclaimed production by Stefanos Koroneos with Teatro Grattacielo and Camerata Bardi International Academy (April 2022). It was this production that led to his successful European debut in Syros, Greece which allowed him to make his debut at the Rhodes International Festival earlier in 2022 (September 2022-June 2023). He studies with soprano Elisabeth Stevens, with whom he co-creates through Sing! Intensive (Formerly Quarantine Sing!) and was a former 2021-2022 young artist with Camera Bardi International Academy. His fruitful 2022 season has brought him around the world and across the USA, with a variety of style in the classical music genre. Most recently, he serenaded audiences in Santa Fe, New Mexico in Opera West’s I Pagliacci as Beppe/Harlequino following his European performances in Don Giovanni in Rhodes and Syros. |
