Biography
Rajiv Cerezo is a Spanish baritone (Madrid, 1992), although his maternal family is originally from India. He began his flute studies at the El Escorial Conservatory (Madrid), finally graduating in singing at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid, under the tutelage of important teachers such as the soprano Milagros Poblador, Ana Rodrigo, Santiago Calderón, where he obtained high marks, as well as with maestro Vincenzo Spatola. After his time in various choral groups such as the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid (JORCAM and ORCAM), he was selected for the CRESCENDO program, a training program for young opera solo singers promoted by the Teatro Real in Madrid. He has also participated in various projects of the Berlin Opera Studio and the Lyric Opera Studio Weimar.
He has participated in various competitions, being a finalist in the national singing competition organized by the Wagnerian Association of Madrid, at the Teatro Real, as well as in the Logroño International Competition and the Valleseco International Zarzuela Competition. He had the opportunity to work with soprano Lisette Oropesa in one of her masterclasses in 2020. He has participated in various operatic productions, performing various roles such as Papageno "Die Zauberflöte", Figaro "Le Nozze di Figaro", Doktor Falke and Einsenstein "Die Fledermaus", Buontempone "Il Buontempone, by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, world premiere", Amonasro "Aida", Schaunard "La Boheme", Don Giovanni "Don Giovanni", Nogales "Luisa Fernanda", as well as in other musical productions such as the production of "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff, under the stage direction of La Fura dels Baus. He has sung in several Spanish and European theatres such as the Teatro Real (Madrid), Teatro Calderón (Madrid), Teatro Olympia (Valencia), Teatro del Canal (Madrid), Teatro Auditorio (San Lorenzo de El Escorial), Teatro Auditorio José Luis Perales (Cuenca), Köln Philharmonie (Cologne), Teatro de Paris (Paris), Tropiques Atrium Scène Nationale (Martinique), National Auditorium (Madrid), Alfredo Kraus Auditorium (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), Congress Palace (Zaragoza), Tivoli Theatre (Barcelona), Palma Auditorium (Palma de Mallorca), National Auditorium (Mexico City).
He has worked under the guidance of several musical directors such as Karel Marek Chichon, Manuel Coves, Sir Neville Marriner, Miguel Roa, among others.
In 2023, in addition to touring throughout Spain with Carl Orff's Carmina Burana in the title role, he performed the role of Nogales in Federico Moreno Torroba's zarzuela Luisa Fernanda at the Teatro Real in Madrid, conducted by Karel Mark Chichon and alongside mezzo-soprano Elina Garança. In addition, during 2023, he debuted in the role of Don Giovanni in the opera of the same name, as well as in the role of Papageno in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte in Weimar, Germany. He has worked in France, specifically in Paris and on the island of Martinique, performing the role of Figaro in the opera Le Nozze di Figaro. In 2024, he performed new roles for his career, such as Count Almaviva in the opera "Le nozze di Figaro" and the roles of Maestro Spinelloccio and the notary Ser Amantio di Nicolao in the opera "Gianni Schicchi." In November, he debuted the roles of Dancario and Morales in the opera "Carmen" with the LG Artist Management company. So far in 2025, he has had new contracts in Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. In the latter country, he debuted Renato in Verdi's opera "Un ballo in maschera." In August, he will debut the title role of "Figaro" in Rossini's opera "Il Barbieri di Siviglia." This year, he has also been selected by the Sabadell Opera to sing the role of "Il Count Almaviva" in Mozart's "Le nozze di Figaro."
