Daniel LuisEspinal

Daniel Luis Espinal is a Cuban-Dominican tenor from Sarasota, Florida. He is currently in his second season as a member of the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he performs Third Jew Salome and Beppe Pagliacci in the 2025/26 season. He will also appear as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

At Lyric Opera of Chicago, Espinal has previously appeared as Jaquino Fidelio, and has covered Rodolfo La bohème, Narraboth Salome, and Borsa Rigoletto. Additional operatic credits include Tom Rakewell The Rake’s Progress, Rinuccio Gianni Schicchi, Male Chorus The Rape of Lucretia, and Tamino Die Zauberflöte.

Espinal’s earliest musical experiences began singing in church choir, but it was through musical theatre that he first discovered his artistic voice and love for performance. Those formative years continue to inform his communicative approach on stage, where vocal colour, character, and emotional immediacy are central to his work. He is recognized for the distinctive colour of his voice and a natural charisma that belie his years.

A recent graduate of the Yale School of Music, Espinal is also an alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music. He was a winner of the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Art Song Prize winner of the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition, and a 2025 Sara Tucker Study Grant recipient. He is an alumnus of the prestigious Merola Opera Program and a participant in the Académie d’Aix-en-Provence.