Ramón Iriarte (born July 25, 1930, in Paris, France) is a Venezuelan-born Canadian

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

opera singer. His father Segundo Iriarte was Venezuelan and his mother Felisa Estivalez was Basque-Spanish. Due to World War II and the political situation in France the life for children was not easy, his mother feared his younger brother was starting to get mentally ill from the constant air-raid sirens. In 1939, when Iriarte was nine his family emigrated to Venezuela seeking a better future and peace from WWII.

Operatic training and career

Several years later, Iriarte started his singing lessons with Carmen Teresa Machado followed by Irene Eberstein as teachers. We also know that Mr. Primo Casale and Mme. Nina de Iwanek were in charge of his music repertoire. His career began in 1957 in La Escuela Nacional de Opera of Venezuela (preceding the creation in 1966 of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura y Bellas Artes – INCIBA). There, he sang roles in the operas '' Rigoletto'', '' Un ballo in maschera'', and many others. The big jump in his career happened two years later when he got the main role as Count Luna in '' Il trovatore'', by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

. After a great performance and success many doors opened to him in the opera world. As Claudio in Montero's '' Virginia,'' and roles in '' L'amico Fritz'', ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', '' Aida'', ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'', ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', and ''

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It was allegedly commis ...

'' had become part of Iriarte's wide music repertoire full of success. One of the main places where Iriarte got to show his talent in a national way was in the

Teatro Municipal de Caracas The Teatro Municipal of Caracas is an opera house in Venezuela. It was inaugurated by President Guzmán Blanco in 1881. The theatre was initially named after the president. Construction The building was designed by Esteban Ricard, a French arc ...

. In 1967 was the first time he performed internationally in New York City where he gained fame and reputation. His baritone's life kept blooming as the years passed. For over twenty–five years he dedicated his life to opera and proudly is part of the Venezuelan heritage. Singing international operas, he also was protagonist in the National Opera creations of the time like

Caroline Lloyd Caroline Parkhurst Lloyd (1924–1980) was an American composer and pianist. Her best-known composition was the Spanish-language opera ''Doña Bárbara'' performed in the Teatro Municipal of Caracas, July 1967. The opera's libretto was provided by ...

's opera based on the novela

Doña Bárbara ''Doña Bárbara (Lady Bárbara)'' is a novel by Venezuelan author Rómulo Gallegos, first published in 1929. It was described in 1974 as "possibly the most widely known Latin American novel".Shaw, Donald, "Gallegos' Revision of Doña Bárbara 1 ...

1967.

Retirement from opera

Few years after, Iriarte decided to take time off from the opera scene and recorded some folkloric music and made few musical television shows. As the years went by, pursuing happiness with his family he became a bank manager to be able to spend and dedicate more time to them. In the mid-1990s Ramon Iriarte left Venezuela with his family, wife and three children to live in Canada, where he occasionally sings.

Recordings

José Ángel Montero José Ángel Montero (born Caracas October 2, 1832 - died Caracas August 24, 1881) was a Venezuelan opera composer, a contemporary of the Brazilian Antônio Carlos Gomes, Carlos Gomes. As ''maestro di capilla'' at the cathedral of Caracas he wrot ...

's opera '' Virginia'', LPs (Caracas, 1969) Fondacion Vicente Emilio Sojo, National Opera Company, conducted

Primo Casale Primo Casale (1904–1981) was an Italian-born Venezuelan conductor, composer, and violinist. Casale was born in Lombardy, Italy. He was first a violinist at La Scala and participated in recitals for Radio Audizioni Italiane. He came to Vene ...

Audio Felipe Sangiorgi. ''José Ángel Montero y su ópera Virginia'' (José Ángel Montero and his opera Virginia) (in Spanish), analysis, synopsis and libretto * '' L'amico Fritz'' LP with

Alfredo Sadel Manuel Alfredo Sánchez Luna, better known as Alfredo Sadel (February 22, 1930 – June 28, 1989) was a popular Venezuelan singer and actor. Early life Manuel Alfredo Sánchez Luna was born in Caracas, Venezuela, to Manuel Sánchez Benítez and ...

as Fritz

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iriarte, Ramon 1930 births Living people Venezuelan opera singers Venezuelan emigrants to Canada Operatic baritones