Juan Borja  is regarded as the leading tenor from Ecuador, and has been acclaimed for his interpretation of many of the great tenor roles in the romantic repertoire. He has performed in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, the United States, and Venezuela, and his versatility allows him to feel equal ease in the realms of opera, oratorio, operetta, Spanish zarzuela and Art-song.

 He spent his formative years in the celebrated Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and he made his Argentine debut as Tamino in Mozart’s Magic Flute. He appeared in his USA debut in Chicago with the American Opera Group as Don Jose in Bizet’s Carmen, having previously sung leading roles such as Pery in  Gomes’ Guarany, Puccinian heroes Rodolfo in La Boheme, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Strauss’ Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Verdi’s Duke in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La traviata,  and Ismael in Nabucco.

Championing new works for the stage, he has created title roles in Izcovich’s children opera Tal y Tul as it was staged by the Experimental Center of the Teatro Colón, the main role in Rattenbach’s Minotauro, and the Sorcerer in Auz’s Inty Raymi, a  multi-media festival work inspired in Andean traditional music.

 

Juan Borja performs frequently in the concert stage too, having appeared regularly as a soloist in masses and oratorios. He is additionally an accomplished recitalist. His Art-song recitals have included Schubert’s complete song-cycles.

 

Born in Quito, Ecuador, Juan Borja studied in Europe with the celebrated baritone Gino Bechi. After making an early operatic debut in Verdi’s La traviata, he resumed his studies in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with tenor Carlos Guichandut. He has also devoted part of  his time to the producer’s tasks as he has staged Pergolesi’s Serva Padrona, Puccini’s Boheme and Strauss’ Die Fledermaus  in his own Spanish version.

 

He is currently hosting two shows in Vivaldi FM, the only Ecuadorian radio station devoted entirely to classical music, and he has already featured twice as a jury in Popstars, the well-known TV reality show that encourages singing among young people.