Daniel Montenegro
A graduate of San Francisco’s prestigious Adler Fellow Opera Program, American tenor Daniel Montenegro is recognized for his flexible and distinctive voice and a varied repertoire of bel canto, verismo, and contemporary roles. Daniel made his Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, and San Diego Opera debuts in 2015 as Luis (a role he created) in El Pasado Nunca se Termina.
Recent and upcoming engagements for Mr. Montenegro include Alfredo in La traviata at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Duke in Rigoletto at Nashville Opera, and Rafael in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna at Opera Santa Barbara. He also appeared as a featured soloist with Minnesota Opera at the 2021 Opera America annual conference. Recent seasons have included one of his signature roles, Giovanni, in La Hija de Rappaccini with Chicago Opera Theater, a return to San Francisco Opera as Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, Mario in Il postino with Virginia Opera and Opera Santa Barbara, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Phoenix Symphony.
Other highlights include Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Columbus, Alfredo in La traviata with Arizona Opera, and Luis in El Pasado Nunca se Termina with Fort Worth Opera. Additional recent performances include Rafael in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna in his debut with both New York City Opera and Houston Grand Opera; a return to San Diego Opera as Arcadio in Florencia en el Amazonas; Giovanni in La Hija de Rappaccini with Gotham Opera; and his European operatic debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet as Mario in Daniel Catán’s Il Postino alongside Plácido Domingo. He has also made a number of significant role and company debuts including Roderigo in Otello with San Francisco Opera under Nicola Luisotti; Alfredo in La traviata with New Orleans Opera and Minnesota Opera; Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Washington National Opera; Pang in Turandot at the Hollywood Bowl conducted by Gustavo Dudamel; Pong in Turandot with San Francisco Opera and Dallas Opera; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Tulsa Opera and the Castleton Festival; and most recently Mario in Il Postino with Opera Saratoga, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Arizona Opera, and Rafael in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna in his debut with Fort Worth Opera.
As a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and former Resident Artist of Minnesota Opera, Daniel has sung a wealth of roles including Liverotto and Rustighello in Lucrezia Borgia; Pong in Turandot; Remendado and Dancaïro in Carmen; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte; Nick in The Handmaid’s Tale; and Flavio in Norma. Additionally, he has sung Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer with both Portland Opera and Arizona Opera, and the Shepherd in Peter Sellars’ production of Oedipus Rex at the Sydney Festival and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. An ongoing collaboration with Los Angeles Opera has brought appearances in several productions including the world premiere of Lee Holdridge’s Concierto para Méndez, La traviata (released on DVD), Carmen, Luisa Fernanda, L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Il tabarro.
Daniel features on Great Voices Sing John Denver alongside Plácido Domingo and many other key operatic names. Produced by legendary arranger and music producer Milt Okun, the disc was released on the MRI Associated label in June 2013. He received his Bachelor of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.