Puerto Rican Bass, Ricardo Lugo, has notable debuts in the 2006-07 Season. He makes his Metropolitan Opera debut as Un Barnabotto in La Gioconda, conducted by Bertrand de Billy; and with the Washington National Opera as Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, conducted by Maestro Plácido Domingo. Other engagements for the 2006-07 Season include Sparafucile in Rigoletto, with Opera Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In Summer 2006, Ricardo Lugo participated as an apprentice artist in The Santa Fe Opera’s 2006 Festival Season. As an apprentice, Mr. Lugo was featured as the King in a new production of Cendrillon, with Joyce DiDonato and Richard Stilwell, directed by Laurent Pelly and conducted by Kenneth Montgomery; and as the First Soldier in Strauss’ Salome, conducted by John Fiore.

During the 2005-2006 Season, Mr. Lugo appeared with the Opera de Puerto Rico as Ramfis in Aïda; conducted by Teo Alcántara. Also, he was featured as Jose Tripaldi in the acclaimed production of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, directed by Peter Sellars, during Lincoln Center’s Festival entitled “The Passion of Osvaldo Golijov”. Other engagements include Happy in La fanciulla del West with Tampa Opera; Ramfis with the Mosaico Cultural in Guatemala; a return to the Opera de Puerto Rico as Colline in La Bohème, which he also performed at the Tamaulipa’s Festival in Mexico.

Mr. Lugo made his American debut with the Aspen Music Festival in 2001 performing Don Basilio in
Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Ludovico in Otello; the later he reprised with Opera Tampa.

Ricardo Lugo performs regularly with all the opera companies of his native Puerto Rico. With the Opera De Puerto Rico, he has performed Ceprano in Rigoletto; Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte; Dr. Grenvil in La traviata; Colline in La Bohème; Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia; and Angelotti in Tosca. For Teatro de la Opera, he added the roles of Pietro in Simon Boccanegra; Masetto in Don Giovanni; Tom in Un ballo in maschera; Crespel in Les Contes d’Hoffman; Frere Laurent in Romeo et Juliette; the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte; Ludovico in Otello; and Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro. He has also taken part in CulturArte, where he performed the roles of Dr. Grenvil in La traviata, opposite Carol Vaness and Plácido Domingo; and Ludovico in Otello opposite June Anderson and Placido Domingo, both conducted by Eugene Kohn.

Mr. Lugo made his New York Recital Debut on February 2006 at the Liederkranz Foundation.

Mr. Lugo’s concert engagements include the Bach Magnificat, the Mozart Requiem, and a tribute to Leonard Bernstein conducted by the late Sarah Caldwell; with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. Mozart’s Requiem with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra;

Mr. Lugo was a second place winner of The Liederkranz Foundation and a finalist in the regional auditions of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in New Orleans. He was a recipient of the Justino Diaz Scholarship given at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions-District of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Lugo studied at The Julliard School where he was a student of Daniel Ferro and Steven Smith; and the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.