Bio
Praised by The New York Times for “the evening’s richest instrument—powerful yet capable of softness,” Ricardo José Rivera makes several major Verdi role debuts in the 2024-25 Season, including Macbeth (title role) at Teatro Nuovo, Stiffelio (Stankar) at Sarasota Opera, and Il trovatore (Conte di Luna) in Opera Colorado’s semi-staged production. He also joins Pittsburgh Opera for Pagliacci (Silvio), Florida Grand Opera for Elixir of Love (Belcore), and Colorado Springs Philharmonic for Madama Butterfly (Sharpless), in addition to returning to Opera San José for The Magic Flute (Papageno). Future seasons include debuts with the Metropolitan Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, and Utah Symphony, as well as returns to Sarasota Opera and Opera San José.
A sought-after interpreter of bel canto repertoire, Rivera has performed in Poliuto (Severo) at Teatro Nuovo, Roberto Devereux (Nottingham) at Washington Concert Opera, Ernani (Don Carlo) at Sarasota Opera, and Un ballo in maschera (Silvano) with Riccardo Muti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Other recent highlights include Pagliacci (Silvio) at Opera San Antonio, Carmen (Escamillo) at Opera de Puerto Rico, La bohème (Schaunard) and Cavalleria rusticana (Alfio) at CulturArte de Puerto Rico and Dialogues des Carmélites at Houston Grand Opera. With Lyric Opera of Chicago, he sang Madama Butterfly (Sharpless, Yamadori), La bohème (Schaunard), and La traviata (Baron Douphol) as a member of the Ryan Opera Center.
On the concert stage, Rivera has performed Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Carmina Burana with the National Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic, and El retablo de Maese Pedro (Don Quijote) at the Casals Festival. He is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant, a first-prize winner of the Saengerbund Competition, and a third-prize winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Gulf Coast Region).