Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Luis Ledesma frequently portrays the heroes and villains of Puccini and Verdi in addition to performing the important bel canto roles of Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. His growing repertoire includes many roles in the French repertoire and has extended to the verismo composers as well. 

His career already includes appearances in several international opera houses around the world, including Teatro alla Scala (Luisa Fernanda), the Liceu in Barcelona (Alphonse in La favorite, Riccardo in I puritani and Marcello in La bohème), Klangbogen Festival in Vienna (La bohème), Wexford Festival (the title role in Don Pasquale), Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Escamillo in Carmen), Semperoper in Dresden ( Marcello in La bohème), several roles for Koeln Oper (including the title role in Don Carlo and Germont in La traviata), Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires (Figaro in The Barber of Seville), Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Marcello in La bohème, Germont in La traviata, and Escamillo in Carmen), Macau Festival (Sharpless in Madama Butterfly), Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos ( Marcello in La bohème), Graz Oper (Escamillo in Carmen), L’opera de Montreal (Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West), Manitoba Opera (Escamillo in Carmen), Opera Lyra Ottawa (Tonio in I Pagliacci), the Philadelphia Orchestra (Marcello in a concert version of La bohème and Beethoven's 9th Symphony) and the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and in Carmen)) and Bucharest National Opera (Scarpia in Tosca). 

In the United States, Mr. Ledesma has sung with many companies, including Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Madison Opera, Nashville Opera, Portland Opera, Indianapolis and Connecticut Opera, Opera Pacific, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Carolina, Memphis Opera, San Antonio Opera, New Jersey Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florentine Opera, and Hawaii Opera. He also sang two tours with Andrea Bocelli, performing in famous venues such as Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl, Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, Florida, and the Auditorio Nacional Mexico City. 

The 2016-2017 season begins with performances of Florencia en el Amazonas with NYCO, Madama Butterfly for Palm Beach Opera and Il barbiere di Siviglia in San Antonio. Last season Mr. Ledesma sang Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Tonio in Pagliacci for Hungarian State Opera, Carmen and L’elisir d’amore for Filarmonica de Jalisco, Marcello in La boheme for Palm Beach Opera, Sharpless at San Antonio Opera and Escamillo for Finger Lakes Festival. Mr. Ledesma also made his debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera and Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of El Pasado Nunca Se Termina singing the role of Augustino, directed by Leonard Foglia. In the concert arena Mr. Ledesma returned to Carnegie Hall as the baritone soloist for Dvorak's Te Deum. 

Recent seasons include Scarpia in Tosca for Atlanta Opera, Opera Santa Barbara and for Bucharest National Opera, the title role in Macbeth for Palm Beach Opera, and La boheme for Semperoper in Dresden, Bellas Artes in Mexico City and La Orquesta Filarmonica de Santo Domingo. He also performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the Filarmonica de Jalisco and Gala concerts with Tampa Opera and with Festival Cultural Zacatecas, and a solo recital with Festival Classique des Hautes-Laurentides in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. Other recent engagements include Escamillo and Il Conte di Luna in Il trovatore for Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Scarpia for Anchorage Opera, a Verdi Gala concert for Festival Cultural Alfonso Ortiz Tirado in Alamos and the role of Gianni Schicchi for Sacramento Opera. 

Mr. Ledesma made his Carnegie Hall debut in the Faure Requiem and has sung Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Mann Music Center with The Philadelphia Orchestra and with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. He has performed a variety of orchestral repertoire including Mozart's Coronation Mass, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Louisville Orchestra, a series of Christmas concerts in Hannover with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and a Verdi concert presented in Die Alte Opera Frankfurt. His concert performances include La bohème (Marcello) at the Vail Festival and the Mann Music Center with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah in Spain with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Asturias.