Enrique Suárez

Graduate of architecture from the Instituto Superior Politécnico «José Antonio Echeverría» in La Habana, he studied singing with Margarita Horruitiner and worked on repertoire with Rafael Vega Caso, Georgia Guerra, Rafael Morales, Juan Espinosa, Agustín Viera, and Raúl Iglesias. He perfected his vocal technique in Niza, France, with professors L. Nubar and M. Bondo.

In 1979 he made his debut at the Ópera Nacional de Cuba as a guest artist in Tosca (Angelotti and Sciarrone). In the following years he performed with the same company in productions of Rigoletto (Sparafucile), Don Pasquale (title role), La bohème (Colline), El trovador (Ferrando), Faust (Mephistopheles), Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo), Aida (King), among others. He was part of the casts for the world premieres of the works El triunfo de la rebelión by Milanés; Ecue Yamba O by Sánchez Ferrer and Hemingway by Kassarian.

He has also ventured into concert music and participated in programs with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, México. He currently lives in México, where he teaches at the Universidad de Guadalajara.

As a teacher at the Escuela de Música of the Universidad de Guadalajara, Enrique Suárez has trained numerous singers, many of whom now have distinguished careers. As a performer, he has secured roles in various operas in both European countries and in our continent, and in 2011 he performed on the stage of Paraninfo Enrique Díaz de León to showcase his educated bass voice.

In an interview with El Faro cultural, Enrique Suárez Mazón commented: "After many years I will be singing again at the Paraninfo with a very varied program that includes opera arias, romanzas, and some songs from musical revues."

Regarding the concert details, he said that it took him a long time to fine-tune the program "some are works that I have been singing for several years, however, due to my work as a professor and researcher at the U de G I have had to step away from singing somewhat; some years ago I sang regularly during opera seasons and now I have wanted to take it up again."

So for a year and a half, Suárez Mazón explained: "I have been preparing myself under these conditions to reach the point where I can do worthy work. Óscar Vejar (pianist) and Alma Rocío Jiménez (soprano) have had many rehearsals over several months and regularly."

Regarding the difficulties he faced in returning to singing, he said "One already has the technique, it is not something that can be applied with a magic wand. In the case of my voice, which has a complicated tessitura, it is a rare voice, few have the privilege of having this tone, and many professors and colleagues told me that if my voice was in condition and you have the repertoire, why don't you do more things? That's what encouraged me."

Finally, he stated that this is the beginning of his return to the stage because "Due to the character of my voice, whether I want to or not, I have to keep singing. There are many people who want to perform the repertoire that I have, but this tone is something that nature gives, it is something I will continue doing. I will sing at the anniversary of the Escuela de Música of the U de G with the Orquesta Sinfónica at the Teatro Degollado."

Some of the pieces that will be performed in this concert are Il lacerato Spirito (Aria from the Opera Simón Boccanegra) by Verdi; Vals de Musetta (Aria from the Opera La Bohème) by Puccini; The Music of the night (from The Phantom of the Opera) by Weber, and Joshua fit the battle of Jerico, a black spiritual song.