In his return to the Metropolitan Opera in Jean-François Girard’s new production of Der fliegende Holländer, Opera News says “David Portillo was a wonderful Steersman, singing with clean, bracing confidence and acting with discretion and taste, once again confirming his status as one of the most reliable and versatile young singers on the Met roster.” This upcoming season included Covid-cancelled performances of Roberto Devereux at the Met, Mr. Rodriguez in the world-premiere of Awakenings by Tobias Picker at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and a return to Bayerrische Staatsoper in Munich for Haydn’s Orlando Paladino. Mr. Portillo was previously at the Washington National Opera and the UK’s Glyndebourne Festival for performances of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. He also recently debuted as Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites at the Metropolitan Opera.
Previous seasons saw a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Arbace in Idomeneo with Sir Andrew Davis, an opera he performed for his debut with the Teatro Real in Madrid, but as Idamante. On two separate occasions last season, Mr. Portillo returned to his hometown of San Antonio, Texas for a role debut as Alfredo in La traviata with Opera San Antonio, as well as a solo orchestral program of Italian repertoire with the San Antonio Symphony with Sebastian Lang-Lessing. Orchestral engagements included a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Gustavo Dudamel, an appearance with Grant Gershon and the Los Angeles Master Chorale for Mozart’s Requiem, and Carmina Burana with DePaul University as part of the opening celebrations of the Holtschneider Performance Center. Finally, he joined the Minnesota Orchestra for performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, the New York Choral Society for Tippett’s A Child of our Time at Carnegie Hall, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis for Handel’s Messiah, and El Paso Choral Society for first performances of Verdi’s Requiem.
In the 2017-2018 season, David Portillo made a splash in two role debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, first as Eduardo in Thomas Adès’ North American premiere of The Exterminating Angel, then as Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow. He performed Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Houston Grand Opera, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for his debut with Dallas Opera. In the summer of 2018, Mr. Portillo made two important house debuts, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Count Libenskof, and the Bayerische Staatsoper as Pasquale in Orlando Paladino. Orchestral highlights of the season included Mozart’s Requiem with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Past seasons on the operatic stage include appearances at the Metropolitan Opera (Count Almaviva, Jacquino in Fidelio), Lyric Opera of Chicago (David in Die Meistersinger, Trin, La fanciulla del West, Andres in Wozzeck), Houston Grand Opera (Tamino), Opera Australia (Ferrando in Così fan tutte), Washington National Opera (Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola), Metropolitan Opera/Juilliard Opera (Renaud, Armide), Opera Philadelphia (Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni), Glyndebourne Festival (David in Die Meistersinger), Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Don Ottavio; Ferrando), Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Pedrillo), Opera Philadelphia (Dr. Richardson in Breaking the Waves), Pittsburgh Opera (Belmonte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Count Almaviva), San Diego Opera (Don Ramiro), Arizona Opera (Ralph Rackstraw, HMS Pinafore, Tonio), Palm Beach Opera (Count Almaviva, Ernesto in Don Pasquale), the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy (Ferdinand, The Tempest), and the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan (Gonzalve, L’heure espagnole). Mr. Portillo has also made important European debuts in recent seasons, including the Wiener Staatsoper (Count Almaviva), Dutch National Opera (Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Oper Frankfurt (Tamino), The English Concert (Lurcanio in Ariodante), Festivald’Aix-en-Provence (Pedrillo, Lurcanio),Salzburg Festival (Don Gaspar in Donizetti’s La favorite), and with Opera Angers-Nantes (Narciso).With orchestra, David Portillo has appeared as the tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Phoenix Symphony and Haydn’s Creation with the Colorado Music Festival and Eugene Symphony. In Handel’s Messiah, he has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony and Richmond Symphony. He has performed as the tenor soloist in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra. With Washington Concert Opera, he has performed Tebaldo in concert performances of I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
An alumnus of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera in Vienna, Virginia, Mr. Portillo grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.