Born Bujalance, Córdoba, 31 July 1930.
Died Madrid, 2 April 2023.
Spanish tenor.
One of the leading Hispanic tenors of his generation, he appears to have sometimes been seen as a '5th tenor' (alongside Domingo, Carreras, Aragall and Alfredo Kraus).
Pedro Lavirgen sang in most of the major European houses, including 12 seasons at the Vienna Sttaatsoper. He was based through most of his career at Barcelona.
He trained as a schoolteacher, also singing in a radio chorus, before joining the chorus at Madrid's Teatro de la Zarzuela. He studied sing with Miguel Barrosa. His solo debut was in 1959 at Zaragoza, in the zarzuela Marina by Arrieta. He spent the next five years with the touring zarzuela company of José Tamayo.
His operatic debut came in 1964 as Radamès in Mexico City. He sang Don José for the first time at Barcelona, and these two remained his signature roles. Later role debuts included Vienna (Canio), New York Met (Cavaradossi), Milan La Scala (Caláf) and Bregenz (Otello).
His debut with the Royal Opera at Covent Garden came in 1975 (Don José) and he returned in July 1978 as Pollione Norma. This came as a late substitute when Charles Craig became ill. It was the month before his Edinburgh Festival appearances in the famous Piero Faggioni Carmen staging with Teresa Berganza under Claudio Abbado.
In retirement from 1993 he taught at the Royal Conservatoire in Madrid.
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