Juan Diego Flórez (born January 13, 1973 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Sol del Perú.
From The Indepnedent (UK), May 7, 2010:
Opera's superstar: Why Juan Diego Flórez is the heir to Pavarotti
Juan Diego Flórez came late to classical music, preferring instead pop and
Elvis Presley. Following appearances at La Scala and Covent Garden, he was
anointed as the new Pavarotti, but Jessica Duchen discovers that the world's
favourite tenor is his own man
When Juan Diego Flórez got married in the Basilica Cathedral, Lima, back in
2008, the astounding scenes could have been welcoming royalty.
[....]
Maintaining vocal health, he says, means maintaining physical health. "Sleeping well is the main thing. And eating well; I'm vegetarian, which
works for me. I do sports - I play tennis, sometimes I play soccer." Like
football, singing is an intensive physical activity: "The fact that I'm 37
and my voice hasn't changed much is, I think, a positive thing, because the
voice is at its best from 25 to 35. This is the prime; after that, it starts
going down. It's the same for footballers, who don't play any more after
they are 35. We sing with our muscles. So if you're 37 to 40 and you still
have the qualities, characteristics and high notes that you had when you
were 30, it means you're doing a good job. It means you're going to sing
your repertoire for a long time, which is great because this is the
repertoire that made you famous and that the public love. They don't want to
hear me sing whatever else; they want to hear me sing bel canto."
[...]
full story:
www.independent.co.uk/..../florez-is-the-heir-to-pavarotti-1965097.html
|