Rafael Rojas
- Tenor
- Fellow
About Rafael
Mexican tenor Rafael Humberto Rojas is in his first year of the International Opera Studio Opernhaus Zürich, where this season he will appear in Die Zauberflöte, Samson et Dalia and La Fanciulla del West. In October 2026, he was awarded the Audience Award, the Patagonia Voice Award and third place at the Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition.
He is a recent graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) where he was awarded the prestigious International Artist Diploma scholarship. Last season, Rafael made his professional debut in the role of Rafael in Christof Loy's new production of El Gato Montés at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid. At RNCM, Rafael appeared as the Prince in their production of Prokofiev's L'amour des Trois Oranges and as the Schoolmaster in Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen. In the not too-distant future, Rafael has contracts with Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich.
Prior to studying in Manchester, Rafael was part of the Mexican Opera Studio, where he performed in Bizet's Carmen, Massenet's Manon and a selection of Mexican operas by Melesio Morales, Carlos Jimenez Marabak and Daniel Catan.
In addition to his three prizes at Neue Stimmen, Rafael was awarded second prize at the 2026 Clonter Opera competition. He also claimed first prize at the regional Mexican Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition in both 2022 and 2023 and at the 2022 Carlo Morelli Zarzuela Competition at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City. In 2024, he performed in the Houston Grand Opera's Concert of Arias.
Contact
Mark Hildrew
Paul Meyer zu Schwabedissen
Elan Fryar
Season Highlights
Video
- Playing
Rafael Humberto Rojas performs 'Tombe degli avi miei... Fra poco a me ricovero' by Donizetti in the final round of Neue Stimmen 2026
Accompanied by Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vitali Alekseenok Credit: Liz Mohn Stiftung
Rafael Humberto Rojas performs 'Recondita armonia' from Puccini's Tosca
Accompanied by David Jones Credit: Royal Northern College of Music
Rafael Rojas performs 'Oh! fede negar potessi' from Verdi's Luisa Miller
Credit: Rafael Rojas
Rafael Humberto Rojas performs 'ah siempre la stessa vision' from Melesio Morales' Anita
Credit: Rafael Rojas
Photos
Selected Repertoire
Camille Saint-Saëns
Samson et Dalila (Philistine Messenger)
Federico Moreno Torroba
La chulapona (Jose Maria)
Gaetano Donizetti
L'elisir d'amore (Nemorino)
Georges Bizet
Carmen (Don José)
Giacomo Puccini
La boheme (Rodolfo) • Tosca (Cavaradossi) • La fanciulla del west (Joe)
Giuseppe Verdi
La Traviata (Alfredo) • Simon Boccanegra (Adorno)
Jules Massenet
Manon (Le Chevalier des Grieux) • Werther (title role)
Leoš Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen (schoolmaster)
Manuel Penella
El gato montés (Rafael)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin (Lensky)
Sergei Prokofiev
L'amour des trois oranges (Le Prince)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte (1st Armoured Man)
News
Press
Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition
Liz Mohn FoundationOct 2026Der mexikanische Tenor Rafael Rojas, der spätere Publikumspreisträger, überzeugte insbesondere in seiner ersten Arie, „Tombe degli avi miei“ aus der tragischen Oper „Lucia di Lammermoor“ von Gaetano Donizetti. Viel tenoraler Schmelz, mühelose Höhen und enorm viel Ausdruckskraft des jungen Sängers. [Translated] The Mexican tenor Rafael Rojas, who went on to win the Audience Award, particularly impressed with his first aria, ‘Tombe degli avi miei’, from Gaetano Donizetti’s tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor. The young singer displayed a rich, mellow tenor tone, effortless high notes and tremendous expressiveness.
- Das Opernmagazin
- 10 October 2026
El Gato Montes
Teatro de la Zarzuela, MadridJun 2026 - Jul 2026El tenor mexicano Rafael Humberto Rojas completaba el trio de figuras principales del reparto. Posee una hermosa voz, muy luminosa, con una gran facilidad para el agudo que siempre es emitido con calidad. La voz se aterciopela en el amplio registro central y muestra una gran capacidad interpretativa. No se limita a cantar. Sino que hace una creación de su personaje. Fue un Rafael, el Macareno muy solvente, muy logrado. En todo momento mostró una gran vena lírica. Su técnica hace que la emisión de voz sea siempre grata y llega al registro agudo con una naturalidad que sin duda ayuda mucho a recrear a su personaje. Un detalle no menos interesante. Vestido de torero daba la impresión de ser un verdadero lidiador, muy lejos de esos toreros adocenados y poco convincentes de tantas producciones líricas. Dijo siempre su papel creyendo lo que cantaba. Y tuvo una amplia gama interpretativa, arrogante y con majeza, cuando el papel lo requería, apasionado, intensamente entregado en los momentos más líricos. Un excelente trabajo el suyo. [Translated] The Mexican tenor Rafael Humberto Rojas rounded off the trio of leading figures in the cast. He has a beautiful, very luminous voice, with great ease in the upper register, which is always delivered with quality. His voice takes on a velvety quality across the broad middle register and displays great interpretative skill. He does not merely sing; rather, he brings his character to life. He was a very competent and highly accomplished Rafael, ‘El Macareno’. At all times, he displayed a strong lyrical flair. His technique ensures that his vocal delivery is always pleasing, and he reaches the high register with a naturalness that undoubtedly goes a long way towards bringing his character to life. Another detail that is no less interesting: dressed as a bullfighter, he gave the impression of being a genuine matador, a far cry from those run-of-the-mill and unconvincing bullfighters found in so many opera productions. He always delivered his role as if he truly believed what he was singing. And he displayed a wide interpretative range: arrogant yet charming when the role demanded it, and passionate and intensely committed during the most lyrical moments. An excellent performance on his part.
- Opera World
- 23 June 2026