JOSÉ LUIS MALDONADO
baritone
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RECENT AND UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS
- Dulcamara in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, with Angels Lyric Opera in Los Angeles (2026);
- Tonio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, at the Opera Birmingham (2026);
- The title role in Verdi's Rigoletto, at the Indianapolis Opera (2025);
- Hunter in Dvorak's Rusalka, at the Pacific Opera Project (2024);
- Peter in Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel, with Pacific Opera Project (2024);
- Father Arguedas in López Bellido's Bel Canto and Zarzuelas Concert, at the Aspen Music Festival (2023);
- The title role in Verdi's Falstaff, with Lyric Opera of Orange County (2023);
- Sulpice in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, by The Opera Buffs Inc. (2022).
BIOGRAPHY
Hailed by Opera News as a “seemingly unlimited baritone”, Californian baritone José Luis Maldonado holds a doctorate in vocal performance from Michigan State University, where he studied under Dr. Mark Rucker. He also studied at Cal State Fullerton and Manhattan School of Music He is a recipient of career grants from Opera Buffs Inc. and the Shoshana Foundation (Richard F. Gold Career Grant).
Highlights of Maldonado’s 2025/26 season include three important role debuts: the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto, at the Indianapolis Opera, Tonio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci at the Opera Birmingham, and the role of Dulcamara in Donizetti’s L'Elisir d'Amore, with Angels Lyric Opera in Los Angeles, but also his San Bernardino Symphony debut. Between 2023 and 2024, he sang the roles of Hunter in Dvorak’s Rusalka, by Pacific Opera Project; Peter in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, with the Lyric Opera of Orange County and debuted the role of Don Giovanni in Michigan.
Maldonado’s repertoire includes title roles in Verdi’s Falstaff, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Verdi’s Rigoletto, as well as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Don Magnifico in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Sulpice in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, Betto di Signa in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Ricardo Martín in Giménez’ El Barbero de Sevilla. His notable performances include his Long Beach Opera debut in Anthony Davis’ Central Park Five, under Maestro Anthony Parnther, and his Lincoln Center debut as Escamillo in La Carmencita, an Argentinian adaptation in Spanish of Bizet’s Carmen, and returned to New York to sing in Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos celebration. In 2022, he covered Sir Bryn Terfel as Falstaff at the Aspen Music Festival, later reprising the role at Michigan State in 2023, and with the Lyric Opera of Orange County.
A frequent competitor and concert artist, J. L. Maldonado was a finalist in the Gran Teatre del Liceu’s competition Tenor Viñas and the inaugural Duncan Williams Competition, a collaborative effort by Manhattan School of Music and New York City Opera; a District winner for the Metropolitan Opera Competition; and an Audience Prize winner in the Opera Ithaca Competition. He has performed Zarzuela with Ana María Martínez and studied with legendary sopranos Carol Vaness and Renée Fleming.