Pedro Lavirgen Gil (31 July 1930 – 2 April 2023) was a Spanish tenor, whose career spanned over 30 years.

Life and career

Born in

Bujalance Bujalance is a town located in the heart of Andalucia, southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba. , it had 7910 inhabitants. Its name is derived from the Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the ...

, during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Lavirgen suffered a serious leg injury and remained in hospital for three years, joining the hospital choir and soon becoming a soloist. Once discharged, he studied at the

Madrid Royal Conservatory The Madrid Royal Conservatory ( es, Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid) is a music college in Madrid, Spain. History The Royal Conservatory of Music was founded on July 15, 1830, by royal decree, and was originally located in Mosten ...

and at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático. He started his career as a chorus singer at

Radio Nacional de España Radio Nacional de España (acronym RNE, branded rne, "National Radio of Spain") is the national state-owned public service radio broadcaster in Spain. RNE is the radio division and Televisión Española (TVE) is the television division of R ...

and, later, at the

Teatro de la Zarzuela The Teatro de la Zarzuela is a theatre in Madrid, Spain. The theatre is today mainly devoted to zarzuela (the Spanish traditional musical theatre genre), as well as operetta and recitals. History The theatre was designed by architect Jerónimo ...

. He made his debut as first tenor in 1959. In 1964 Lavirgen debuted at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

in New York, and in 1975 he made his debut at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

and at the

Covent Garden Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

. He also performed at

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August S ...

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

Verona Arena The Verona Arena ( it, Arena di Verona ) is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy built in 30 AD. It is still in use today and is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best p ...

, and

National Theatre Munich The National Theatre (german: link=no, Nationaltheater) on Max-Joseph-Platz in Munich, Germany, is a historic opera house, home of the Bavarian State Opera, Bavarian State Orchestra and the Bavarian State Ballet. Building First theatre � ...

, among other venues. After his retirement in 1993, he taught singing at the

. Lavirgen died on 2 April 2023, at the age of 92.

References

External links

Pedro Lavirgen
at

Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana The ''Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana'' (in English: the ''Great Catalan Encyclopedia'') is a Catalan-language encyclopedia, started in fascicles, and published in 1968 by . The soul of the work was written by Max Cahner, and the first director was ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavirgen, Pedro 1930 births 2023 deaths People from the Province of Córdoba (Spain) Spanish tenors Madrid Royal Conservatory alumni Academic staff of the Madrid Royal Conservatory