Joel Prieto has become one of the most sought-after and exciting
artists of his generation since he was unanimously awarded the highly
coveted distinction of first prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in
2008.
The Spanish-born tenor, raised in Puerto Rico, continually captivates
audiences, bringing depth and subtlety to leading roles, infusing characters
with vitality, elegance, and beauty.
He has performed in some of the most prestigious opera and concert
venues
around the world such as: Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Covent Garden
Royal
Opera House and Wigmore Hall in London, Teatro Real in Madrid, Gran
Teatre
del Liceu in Barcelona, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia,
Opera de
Oviedo, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Staatsoper Unter den Linden
and
Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Semperoper in Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper
in
Munich, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles
Opera, Opéra National de Paris and Téâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Téâtre
du
Capitol in Toulouse, Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco, La Monnaie de Munt
in
Brussels, Theater an der Wien and Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, Teatro
dell’Opera di Roma, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw,
Great National Theater of China in Beijing, NHK Hall in Tokyo, Opera de
Puerto Rico, and Teatro Municipal of Santiago in Chile among others. As
well
as in the most important festivals: Salzburg Festival, Santa Fe Opera
Festival,
Glyndebourne Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, Festival dei
due
Mondi Spoleto, Bad Kissingen Summer Festival, Festival Casals, Festival
of
Spanish Lyric Theater, Festival d’Aix-en- Provence, and Mostly Mozart
Festival
at Lincoln Center in New York.
Joel Prieto, of a Spanish father and a Puerto Rican mother, was born in
Madrid and moved to Puerto Rico at the age of four, where he grew up. His
father and mother are writers, one of his sisters is a painter, and the other
one a photographer. He grew up in an artistic family environment, which
allowed him to start in music very early. At the age of five, he began taking
violin lessons and at six he joined the San Juan Children’s Choir, founded by
Pablo Casals and Evy Lucío. He did his studies at the University of Puerto
Rico, the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, and the Manhattan School of
Music in New York. He then moved to Europe as a member of the Atelier
Lyrique de l’Opéra National de Paris and later of the Young Singers Project at
the Salzburg Festival. During the 2006-2008 seasons he was part of the
permanent ensemble at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin.
The tenor has participated in many highly relevant productions recorded on
DVD and streamed on live broadcasts throughout his career, collaborating
with directors such as Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Trevor
Pinnock, Robin Ticciati, Daniele Gatti, Roberto Abbado , Ivor Bolton, Ottavio
Dantone, Daniele Callegari, Bruno Campanella, Adam Fischer and stage
directors such as Sir David McVicar, Robert Carsen, Claus Guth, Christof Loy,
Emilio Sagi, Barrie Kosky, Francisco Negrín, Stephen Lawless, Daniel Satler,
Harry Kupfer , Frederic Wake-Walker and Hans Neuenfels, among others.
Joel began his career singing the main roles of the Mozartian and bel canto
repertoire, now establishing himself as a lyric tenor with roles such as
Romeo, Edgardo, Nemorino, Lensky, Alfredo, Faust, Don José, and Rodolfo,
among others.
In the 2021-22 season stands out his debut as Don José in the opera
Carmen at the Auditorio de la Diputación de Alicante (ADDA) with Maestro
Josep Vicent and stage director Emilio Sagi. Also his return to the Festival
d’Aix-en-Provence as Narraboth in the opera Salomé.
Joel Prieto won several awards in the 2008 edition of the Operalia Contest:
First Prize, Zarzuela Prize, and Culturarte Prize, thus jumping onto the
international circuit. In addition, he has received the “Voices of the year”
award as the best male voice of 2013 awarded by the Association of Lyrical
Singers of Spain. He currently resides in Madrid, Spain.
June 2022