Heralded for his “superbly refined voice” and “laudable performances” (Washington
Classical Review), Chilean born American baritone Javier Arrey has appeared in houses like
The Vienna State Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Palau de Les Arts,
Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Nacional de Chile, Washington National Opera and San Francisco
Opera, among others.
Javier Arrey has collaborated with conductors including Eun Sun Kim, Lorin Maazel,
Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, James Gaffigan, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Plácido Domingo, Antony
Walker and Marco Armiliato. His leading roles include Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor),
Belcore (L’Elisir D’Amore), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Conte Almaviva (Le Nozze di
Figaro), Conte di Luna (Il Trovatore), Jago (Otello), Renato (Un Ballo in Maschera), Rodrigo
(Don Carlo), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana), Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Riccardo (I Puritani)
and Diego Rivera (El último sueño de Frida y Diego).
Of his debut performance as Jago in Otello at the Castleton Festival under Lorin Maazel, The
Washington Post wrote that Arrey portrayed the character his as “menaced and connived but
[Arrey] did so subtly and with a voice so lovely to listen to that his scheming seemed all the
more threatening.” Praises came also from Mo. Lorin Maazel who said: “Jago was
stunningly sung and acted by Javier Arrey [who] manages to give shape to the jealous demon
within Otello”.
Baritone Javier Arrey had the privilege and honor of performing twice in the U.S. Supreme
Court for the Honorable Justices invited by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg
declared: “[Arrey] has what it takes, both as a vocal artist and as a dramatic performer, to
attract new audiences to opera venues, particularly young people needed to ensure that
opera will remain a vital part of the contemporary musical scene.” In
addition to his work on the opera stage, baritone Javier Arrey is a world-class interpreter of
Lieder and concert repertoire. Recent performances include Mahler ‘s Lieder Eines Fahrenden
Gesellen at Teatro Municipal in Chile and Dvořák’s Biblical Songs and Gypsy Songs in the
Czech Republic.
In 2017, Javier was given the prestigious “Congressional Medal of Honor” at the National
Congress of Chile in recognition of his artistic accomplishments and his social labor to bring
the Opera to populations who have no access to live performances. In 2011 Javier won the
CulturArte Prize at Operalia Competition in Moscow and was a finalist at the Cardiff Singer
of the World Competition (Song prize). Arrey is a graduate artist of The Washington National
Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young
Dramatic Voices.