Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Praised by Opera News as “utterly loveable, with an expansive sound and easy stage presence,” bass-baritone, Jesús Vicente Murillo is a multidisciplinary artist who has been performing opera, musical theater, concerts and art song across North America since making his debut with Detroit Opera as The Android in The Very Last Green Thing at the age of eighteen.

In the 2025/26 Season, Murillo makes several major role and house debuts, including Voltaire/Pangloss in Candide with Opera Tampa, and Sgt. José Maria Gomez in Zorro with Opera San Jose where he “supplied great Papageno-like charm” (Opera Today), and a “vibrant, vigorous bass-baritone” (Theatre Eddys). Concert engagements include the Bass Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, Hollywood Spectacular with Symphony San Jose, a recital series at Filoli Gardens, Holiday POPS with The Stockton Symphony, and Sounds of the Season with Folsom Symphony.

Murillo made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2022 as the Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo, and since then has gone on to perform Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro with Portland Opera where he “exhibited energy and style with a robust baritone” (Northwest Reverb), Papageno in The Magic Flute with Nashville Opera where “he filled the comedic shoes not only with debauchery and buffoonery, but with a formidable stage presence and impressive vocals” (The Frenetic Peripatetic), and Zuniga in Carmen with Opera Theatre of St. Louis where he “proved a scene-stealer” (Opera News).

Murillo is also an accomplished painter, and has won numerous awards for his work including top prize at The Utah Latino Arts Competition (2019), an Artist 4 Artist Global Fellowship with The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (2025), and an Illuminate the Arts Career Grant from Creative Philadelphia (2026). At the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival, he pioneered his hallmark expressionist technique with, Winterreise, improvisationally painting five canvases while performing Franz Schubert’s 75-minute magnum opus of the same name. Many of his paintings are held in private collections across North America and Europe. Additionally, he is an avid composer, writer, director, conductor, and educator.

He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music in Opera and Voice Performance from McGill University in Montréal, Québec. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.