José Manuel Zapata
Who is José Manuel Zapata?
José Manuel Zapata (Granada, July 31, 1973) is a Spanish tenor who trained first in Madrid with Toñi Rosado Casas and later at the Valencia Conservatory of Music with Ana Luisa Chova. Throughout his training he received master classes from figures such as Elena Obraztsova, Pedro Lavirgen, Renata Scotto, Victoria de los Ángeles and Giuseppe di Stefano, among other great names of opera singing.
Career
He made his debut in 2001 as Albazar in Rossini’s “Il Turco in Italia” at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo, under the direction of Alberto Zedda. That performance, in the role of Idreno, earned him the 2006 Ópera Actual Award and the Teatro Campoamor’s own Premio Lírica. Since then he has performed roles such as Elvino in Bellini’s “La Sonnambula,” Conte Alberto in “L’Occasione fa il Ladro” at Barcelona’s Liceu, and Cavaliere Belfiore in “Il Viaggio a Reims” at the Warsaw National Opera, as well as taking part in the Spanish premiere of Honegger’s “Joan of Arc at the Stake” at the Granada and Peralada festivals.
Alongside his operatic career, in 2008 he launched a genre-crossing project with singer Pasión Vega, the tango show “Tango: Mano a Mano,” which premiered at the Teatro Isabel la Católica in Granada and was also staged at Madrid’s Teatro Real. The project was released as an album in 2010 with contributions from artists such as Miguel Poveda, José Mercé and Marina Heredia, showcasing the versatility of a tenor grounded in the classical repertoire but open to other musical languages.