Juan Diego Flórez was born in Lima, Peru, in 1973. From an early age he sang and performed Peruvian popular and folk music. At 17 he entered the National Conservatory of Music in Lima and three years later received a scholarship to continue his vocal studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
In 1996 he made his professional debut at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, replacing the leading tenor at very short notice in the role of Corradino in Matilde di Shabran. The success of that performance led to his debut later that same year at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in Gluck’s Armide, conducted by Riccardo Muti for the season opening. These early engagements marked the beginning of an international career that has taken him to the world’s most important opera houses.
Since then he has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in London, the Vienna State Opera, the Opéra National de Paris and Teatro alla Scala, among many others. He has collaborated with leading conductors and stage directors and is a frequent guest at international festivals.
Throughout his career he has performed many roles from the bel canto repertoire, especially in operas by Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. In recent years he has expanded his repertoire to include roles from French Romantic opera such as Roméo et Juliette and Faust by Gounod, and Werther and Manon by Massenet, as well as selected roles by Verdi and Puccini.
Beyond his artistic achievements, he is strongly committed to music education. In 2011 he founded Sinfonía por el Perú, a program that provides children and young people—particularly from vulnerable communities—with access to high-quality musical training through orchestras, choirs and ensembles.
He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the 1999/2000 season with the Extraordinary Concert of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Riccardo Muti, and has returned on several occasions since, most recently with West Side Story (2024/25).