Hugo Marcos Rodríguez Martínez

===BODY===
Baritone. Member of the National Lyric Theater of Cuba. Graduate of the Superior Institute of Art in Havana; as a Bachelor of Music with a Specialty in Singing.

Born in Havana. He studied in Cuba with Kiril Krastev, Liliana Yablonska and Romano Splinter. He perfected his technique at the Center for Lyric Artists of the Teatro alla Scala, in Milan, Italy.

He studied singing at the Superior Institute of Art; (ISA); subsequently at the "Centro di Perfezionamento per Artisti Lirici del Teatro Alla Scala de Milán"; (TLNC), Italy, with professors Gina Cigma, Giulietta Simionato and Eduardo Müller; orchestra director at La Scala and the Metropolitan in New York.

He made his debut at the Gran Teatro de La Habana in the role of "Sharpless" in "Madame Butterfly" by Puccini.

At the Center for Lyric Artists of the Teatro alla Scala, (TLNC), he worked under the guidance of Gina Cigna, Giulietta Simionato and Edoardo Müller. His interpretations of the characters Falstaff (Verdi) and Gianni Schicchi (Puccini) are notable, which he has performed in various European cities.

At the TLNC he performed roles in his voice type in:
The Barber of Seville
Lucia di Lammermoor
Elisir d'amore (Dulcamara)
La traviata
Il trovatore
Rigoletto
Aida
I pagliacci (Tonio and Silvio)
Cavalleria rusticana
Madama Butterfly
Tosca
La bohème (Marcello), among other titles

He was equally an accomplished interpreter of the concert repertoire. For many years he was First Soloist of the National Opera of Cuba, performing in the most important opera theaters and concert halls in the world, such as:
Teatro alla Scala in Milan
Carnegie Hall in New York
Bolshoi Theater in Moscow
Teatro Verdi in Trieste, Italy
Opera of Bremen, Germany
Opera of Nice, France
Opera of Budapest, Hungary
Holland Theatre in London, United Kingdom
Teatro de Bellas Artes in Mexico City
Teatro Heitor Villalobos in Brasilia and many others

Characters he has performed
"Germont" from "La Traviata" by Verdi
"Count of Luna" from "The Barber of Seville," also by Verdi
"Figaro" from "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini
"Doctor Malatesta" from "Don Pasquale" by Donizetti
"Lord Ashton" from "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Donizetti
"Baron Scarpia" from "Tosca" by Puccini
"Escamillo" from "Carmen" by Bizet
The leading roles in "Falstaff" and "Macbeth" by Verdi

Outside of Cuba he has assumed the roles of:
"Germont" in "La Traviata" with the National Opera of Plovdiv, Bulgaria
"Falstaff" in Italy at the Teatro Comunale di Alessandria; with the interpretation of this same character he participated in the International Contest Il Laboratorio Lírico Experimental, ATA, where he won the Absolute Prize

At the Teatro Comunale di Verdi in Trieste, he led an ensemble of world-famous artists who performed Falstaff; also at the Teatro Alla Scala, Piccola Scala Arturo Toscanini, he offered recitals with selections from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin; he performed the lead role of Falstaff at the Opera Theater in Bremen, West Germany.

He participated in the Cervantino Festival in Mexico, alongside the National Opera.

The talent and beautiful baritone voice of Hugo Marcos, in his years of greatest splendor, were appreciated not only by the many lovers of lyric art in Cuba, but by the very knowledgeable audiences of European countries, foremost Italy, but also Germany, France, England, Austria and Spain, among others, as well as the United States, Mexico and several others in the American continent.

His repertoire was extensive. From lieder and chamber music to the most demanding operatic titles for his voice type. He was also one of the few lyric singers in Cuba who was interested in performing avant-garde music of the country.

In this way he premiered and performed works by composers such as Harold Gramatges, Héctor Ángulo and Calixto Álvarez, among others.

José María Vitier, for example, used his voice together with soprano Alina Sánchez in the soundtrack he conceived for the film El Siglo de las Luces directed by Humberto Solás based on the novel of the same name by Alejo Carpentier.

Also memorable are the performances of Hugo Marcos in lied cycles such as Don Quixote to Dulcinea by Maurice Ravel and Tríptico Martiano by Harold Gramatges.

He also demonstrated an unusual cultural knowledge among performers of the island in the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Hugo Wolf, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler.

But it was in opera where Hugo Marcos shone most brightly; with titles such as The Barber of Seville by Gioacchino Rossini; Tosca by Giacomo Puccini; and The Clowns by Ruggero Leoncavallo; among others.

In this case his greatest international recognition was in the interpretation he made in Italy of the leading role in the opera Falstaff by Giuseppe Verdi.

The last stage of Marcos' life and professional career took place in Miami, "still singing occasionally and, above all, transmitting to many young people his profound knowledge of the art and technique of singing." He was a Singing Professor at Barry University and Miami Dade College.

He died in the city of Miami at the age of 65 from a heart attack.