Consistently praised for his smooth, powerful voice, thrilling top notes and magnetic stage presence, the award-winning Argentinian baritone José Carbó has performed in the leading houses of the world including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Real Madrid, Los Angeles Opera, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Seattle Opera and Opera Australia.

 

Established as a "leading Verdi baritone" (Limelight Magazine), 2025 saw José perform the title role in Rigoletto at the National Taichung Theatre in Taiwan and return to one of his signature roles, Germont in La traviata, for Opera Australia, surpassing eighty performances of the role.

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2023 brought three Verdi role debuts; the title role of Macbeth in both the 1865 and 1857 Versions for Opera Queensland and State Opera South Australia, Iago in Otello for West Australian Opera and a return to Escamillo in Carmen for West Australian Opera/Perth Festival.

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His Verdi debut in 2013 as Renato in Un ballo in maschera at Opera Australia was described as "an object lesson in Verdi singing" (Sydney Morning Herald), leading to further Verdi roles at Opera Australia including the title role in Rigoletto (2014), Rodrigo in Don Carlo (2015) and Germont in La traviata (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2025).

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Other recent engagements include his house debut at the Ópera de Tenerife, his role debut as Scarpia in Tosca for Opera Queensland, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Victorian Opera, a tour of Australia with Sumi Jo in their recital Mad for Love, Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas for Los Angeles Opera, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor for Victorian Opera, Zurga in Pearlfishers for Opera Australia and Alfio/Tonio in Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci for Opera Australia, for which he received his third Helpmann Award nomination, a Green Room Award nomination and was praised for his "peerless Prologue, sung with polished and glowingly powerful cantabile" (Sydney Morning Herald).

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In 2015, José joined the roster of principal artists at the Metropolitan Opera. In 2012, he won a Helpmann Award for his portrayal of Fritz in Die tote Stadt with Opera Australia. Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia has been a signature role across three continents, at Seattle Opera (his 2011 US debut), Teatro Real Madrid, Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, Victorian Opera and State Opera South Australia. He made his European debut in 2005 at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in Le nozze di Figaro and his La Scala debut in 2009 in Il viaggio a Reims.

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On the concert platform with all the major orchestras of Australia and New Zealand, José has performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Mass in C, Orff's Carmina Burana, Rachmaninoff's The Bells, Fauré's Requiem, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Vaughan-Williams' Mass in C minor, Mendelssohn's Paulus and Elijah, and Elgar's Dream of Gerontius.

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José's debut album, My Latin Heart, released by ABC Classics, was nominated for the ARIA Classical Record of the Year and debuted at No. 1 on the Limelight Magazine Classical Music charts. He also appears on DVD/Blu-ray and CD as Marcello in La Bohème for Opera Australia, and on CD in Classical Spectacular and 50 Best Opera with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

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© Dec 2025