Praised as "one of the performances of the year" (LA Times), Mexican-American baritone Armando Contreras is quickly becoming a standout in the world of opera. He was recently featured in Opera America Magazine as one of the rising stars in opera. In the 2025-2026 season, following summer performances of his signature role of Lt. Roberto Gonzalez in The Knock with Central City Opera, Armando sings the title role in The Old Man and the Sea with Opera Columbus. He also appears in Zorro with both Arizona Opera and Pacific Opera Project and in Offenbach's Songbird with Kentucky Opera. In the 2024-2025 season, he returned to Pacific Opera Project in the title role of Antonio Cagnoni’s Don Bucefalo, appears as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Las Vegas, and will sing as the baritone soloist in Ein deutches Requiem by Johannes Brahms with the Larimer Chorale. He recently joined the Crested Butte Center for the Arts for concerts as Guglielmo in an abridged version of Così fan tutte.

 

Mr. Contreras recently made his company debut with Cincinnati Opera as Lt. Roberto Gonzalez in the stage premiere of The Knock, a role he first performed with the Glimmerglass Festival in 2021. He also sang Hemingway/Santiago in the world premiere of The Old Man and the Sea with Beth Morrison Projects at Carolina Performing Arts and ASU Gammage. His recent portrayal of Older Thompson in Glory Denied with the Cleveland Institute of Music met glowing reviews - Cleveland Classical writes: “Contreras’s gripping performance fully realized Older Jim’s pain and confusion.” He also sang the roles of Zazueta and Moncada in excerpts from Zorro with Arizona Opera, as well as Cesar Chavez in a workshop of Dolores with West Edge Opera. He also sang a series of “tight and perfect” Dandinis in La Cenerentola with Kentucky Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Syracuse Opera and Salt Marsh Opera (Arts-Louisville).

 

Mr. Contreras sang a lead role in the world premiere of the Rossini pastiche Tenor Overboard with the Glimmerglass Festival in 2022. Highlights of recent seasons include his company debut as Moralès in Carmen and Papageno in The Magic Flute with Salt Marsh Opera, both of which he covered during his time with the Glimmerglass Festival; Diego Rivera in Frida and the Bravest Girl in the World  (Central City Opera, Opera Steamboat), The King/Rat in The Three Feathers (Opera Steamboat), and his Denver Philharmonic debut as Belcore in L'elisir d'amore. 

Mr. Contreras also sang Ernesto in the US premiere of Bizet’s Don Procopio and Filippo in Rossini’s La gazzetta with Pacific Opera Project, Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro and Marcello in La bohème (Boulder Opera), Ben in The Telephone (Opera Fort Collins), and Estaban in En Mis Palabras and Le Dancaïre in Carmen (Central City Opera). With Lyric Opera of Kansas City, he sang Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, the Herald in Rigoletto, and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and covered Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Doug Hansen in Everest. 

 

Equally comfortable in concert repertoire, he performed as the baritone soloist in Brahms’ Requiem with Omaha Symphony last season and recently appeared in recital with Colorado State and Pikes Peak Opera League. He has performed as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Missouri Oratorio Society and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Kansas City Ballet, and appeared as Papageno in a concert featuring operatic selections by Mozart with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony.

 

Mr. Contreras has had training at The Glimmerglass Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Central City Opera. Accolades from the vocal competition circuit include the Top Prize after completion of the Central City Young Artist Program, being named a finalist in the 2020 Kyrenia Opera Vocal Competition and regional winner in the 2019 Dorothy Lincoln Smith Voice Competition.

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Mr. Contreras holds a Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.