Singer
13 January 1973, Lima, Peru
Juan Diego Florez is the finest bel canto tenor of his generation and one of the most consistently returning artists at Mozartwoche and the Salzburg Festival. His connection to Salzburg goes beyond the main summer season; he is closely tied to the Stiftung Mozarteum and returns for concerts and recitals throughout the year.
Juan Diego Florez was born in Lima in 1973 and studied at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia before making his professional debut in Rossini, the repertoire that would define his career. He became the supreme interpreter of bel canto tenor roles, bringing a combination of technical precision, agility in the high register, and musical intelligence that set a new benchmark for Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini.
His relationship with Salzburg developed through both the main Salzburg Festival and the January Mozartwoche, the annual celebration of Mozart organised by the Stiftung Mozarteum. His appearances at Mozartwoche have been among the festival’s defining events, and he is one of the artists most closely identified with the city’s musical life outside the main summer season.
At La Scala in 2007, performing Donizetti’s La fille du regiment, he was granted an encore mid-performance, the first such occurrence at the house in 74 years. That moment confirmed what audiences in Salzburg already knew: there was a voice of a kind that does not appear every generation.
Locations
Built 1910-1914
The Mozarteum Foundation is the institution that runs both of Salzburg's Mozart museums, organizes the Mozart Week festival each January, and operates the concert hall on Schwarzstrasse where major chamber and orchestral programming happens outside the Salzburg Festival.
Organizations
One of the world's most prestigious performing arts festivals. Held annually late July to end of August. Founded 1920 by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Max Reinhardt, Richard Strauss, Franz Schalk, and Alfred Roller. Inaugural event: Jedermann on Domplatz. Herbert von Karajan defined the postwar era. Opera, drama, concerts.
Custodian of Mozart's legacy. Founded 1841. Manages Mozarts Birthplace and Mozarts Residence. World's most important Mozart archive. Organises the annual Mozartwoche. Bernhard Paumgartner shaped its identity for decades.
