Vargas, Ramón (Arturo)
Vargas, Ramón (Arturo)
Vargas, Ramón (Arturo), Mexican tenor; b. Mexico City, Sept. 11,1960. He received vocal training in Mexico City, where he gained experience singing such roles as Fenton, Nemorino, Don Ottavio, and Count Almaviva. In 1987 he appeared at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and in Pesaro. Following an engagement as Tamino in Mexico City in 1988, he sang in Lucerne (1989-90). In 1991 he appeared as Aménophis in Rossini’s Moïsein Bologna and as that composer’s Leicester in Naples. He sang Count Alma-viva in Rome and Rodrigo in La donna del lagoin Amsterdam in 1992, and on Dec. 18 of that year he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Edgardo. After singing Fenton at Milan’s La Scala in 1993, he portrayed El vino in San Diego in 1994, where he returned as Edgardo in 1995. He sang Fernand in La Favoriteat the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in the latter year. In 1996 he appeared as Alfredo at London’s Covent Garden, as Nemorino in Los Angeles, and as the Duke of Mantua in Paris. He returned to Covent Garden in the latter role in 1997, and to Los Angeles as Werther in 1998. In 1999 he sang the Duke of Mantua at the Metropolitan Opera.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire