Àngel ÒDENA  Baritone
 
 
  BIOGRAPHY  

 

"Òdena is an exceptional bass-baritone, the only truly well-placed voice, loud enough to leap the distant pit, with astonishing clarity of diction and an equally attractive singing line."
ABC de Sevilla
sevilla.abc.es

These are some of the enthusiastic reviews the press wrote on the baritone’s last portrayal of SCARPIA in La Maestranza, June 2023.

The vast repertoire of the celebrated singer includes more than 50 roles, which he performed in some of the most prestigious stages of the world next to famous colleagues such as Plácido Domingo, Edita Gruberova, Elisabete Matos under the musical direction of Baremboim, Zedda, Palumbo, Nello Santi…

Among his prestigious Verdi roles we would like to highlight his appearances as CONTE DI LUNA (Metropolitan Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu), GIORGIO GERMONT (Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real Madrid , San Sebastián, Teatro la Zarzuela with Mo. Zedda), PAOLO in “Simon Boccanegra” (Staatsoper Berlin with Daniel Barenboim, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona), IAGO (La Maestranza Sevilla, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro de Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona), NABUCCO and MACBETH (Teatro Sao Carlo Lisboa, Oviedo), ATTILA (Opera House Bilbao), FORD in “Falstaff” (Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Liceu, Bilbao, Teatro Real…), RIGOLETTO (Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, San Carlo di Napoli) AMONASRO ( Teatro Real) and FALSTAFF (Teatro Bellini Palermo) His Verismo repertoire includes SHARPLESS (Staatsoper Hamburg, Lausanne, Maggio Fiorentino Firenze, Teatro Real, Liceu, Maestranza, Palau de les Arts…), SCARPIA (Oviedo, Teatro La Mestranza), MARCELLO in “La Bohème” (Bari, Liceu, San Carlo di Napoli with Nello Santi), Guglielmo in “Le Villi” (Théâtre Champs Elysées, Opera House Oviedo), LESCAUT (Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera House Las Palmas), MICHELLE in “Il Tabarro” (Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona) or ALFIO and TONIO (Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Teatro Real, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Helsinki, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Opera)

Before moving to dramatic roles, he sang ENRICO in “Lucia di Lammermoor” in Lausanne, Barcelona and Amsterdam and performed in “Anna Bolena”, “Maria Stuarda”, “La Favorita”, “Il Duca d’Alba” and “Roberto Devereux”.

One of his most sung roles is ESCAMILLO, a part which has taken him to the Arena di Verona ( Plácido Domingo conducting), Toulouse, Barcelona, Chorégies d’Orange, Palermo… Other roles of his French repertoire are ALBERT in “Werther” , MERCUTIO , ATHANAEL in “Thais” and LE GRAND PRÊTRE in “Samson et Dalila”.
Angel Òdena is also a very much sought-after Zarzuela baritone, having portrayed almost 20 roles at venues such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro La Zarzuela, Maestranza in Sevilla or The Zarzuela Festival in Teatro Campoamor.

His discography includes “I Pagliacci”, “Il Viaggio a Reims”, “Katiuska” or Falla’s “La vida breve” released by the label Deutsche Grammophon.

Future engagements will take the talented artist to make his debut as JACK RANCE in “La Fanciulla del West” at the Gran Teatre del Liceu or SCHARPLESS at the Opéra de Nice, Antibes and Vichy, as well as at the Teatro Villamarta in Jerez.

 

 
 
 
REVIEWS
 
Opéra de Nice - Madama Butterfly - SHARPLESS
The baritone Angel Odena portrays a Sharpless of palpable humanity, with velvet vocal balm, intermediary between the cultures, father and kindred spirits. A singing serenity, accompanies his every performance.
Olyrix
www.olyrix.com
Teatro Villamarta Jerez – Madama Butterfly – SHARPLESS
Catalanian baritone Ángel Ódena, who has already gained experience in the role of Sharpless, was the cast’s best singer. He made proof of a round, attractive and homogenous timbre and an accurate, measured phrasing, which was particularly brilliant in the long scene with Cio-Cio-San in the second act. His noble singing, appropriate to the role, also showed in the duet with Pinkerton in the first act (Dovunque al mondo) and „Io son che alle sue pene“.
lavozdelsur.es
www.lavozdelsur.es
Baritone Ángel Ódena in the role of consul Sharpless proved vocal power and dramatic skills, which is highly estimated in a role in which one has to be able to give a perfect expression of various situations and moods during the entire performance. Zhe Jerez audience rewarded him with a warm applause.
Diario de Jerez
www.diariodejerez.es
Teatro de la Maestranza Sevilla – Tosca - SCARPIA
Ángel Ódena, with his usual honesty and professionalism, gave a Scarpia that was well sung, expressed and acted from beginning to end. His is not a voice of special personality or overwhelming presence, but he makes up for it with his great commitment and a musical and a theatrical characterisation of the highest level.
Platea Magazine
www.plateamagazine.com
...expressive, vehement, strong-voiced Scarpia by Ángel Ódena.
Platea Magazine
www.plateamagazine.com
Àngel Òdena was simply superb. Formidable his incarnation of the blessed satyr. His Scarpia is a luxury. An imposing voice and a performance focused on detail, not histrionic, human, one of those that are epoch-making. Hopefully, we will see him again soon in here, as it has been a long time since we have enjoyed his singing. Awe-inspiring "Te Deum", accompanied by a Maestranza Choir in a state of grace, placed on the heights of the theatre, a brilliant idea, achieving a very powerful phantasmagorical effect.
El Palco de mi prima
www.facebook.com/elpalcodemiprima
Ódena is an exceptional bass-baritone. The unique well-placed voice is loud enough to leap the distant pit and has an astonishing clarity of diction and an equally attractive singing line.
Sveilla ABC
www.sevilla.abc.es
Àngel Òdena corroborated his profile as a competent baritone, capable of saving any of the characters entrusted to him with good note and a lot of character, both in singing and acting, achieving a sufficiently perverse Scarpia and shining with his broad and flexible voice, capable of nuancing his interventions to the maximum.
elCorreo
www.elcorreoweb.es
Opera de Oviedo - Viva la jota - MELCHOR
Àngel Òdena was fabulous incarnating the malevolent Melchor, origin of Dolores’ evils, and presented his astonishing singing qualities and dramatic abilities.
Scherzo
www.scherzo.es
...and Melchor, the "cruel and violent" macho, brought to life with an outstanding stage presence and voice by Àngel Òdena.
La Nueva España
www.lne.es
Òdena was fabulous as Melchor. The Tarragona baritone is ideal for these antagonist roles that favor his somewhat darkened timbre, and his imposing projection, not without admirable musicality, as could be appreciated during the famous jota.
La Nueva España
www.lne.es
Opera de Bilbao – Falstaff - FORD
Excellent Ford by Angel Òdena, portraying a very jealous and hyperactive husband. He has a good technique, a homogeneous voice as solid as granite and no problems with projection. His jealousy aria in the second act was very impressive.
El Diario
Opera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Tristan und Isolde - KURWENAL
Splendid Odena's Kurwenal, sonorous and vibrant, with an excellently placed voice and an innate sense of the score and the character.
Diario La Província, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Arena di Vernona – Carmen - ESCAMILLO
Escamillo, convincingly and elegantly sung by Àngel Òdena with an impeccable vocal line and remarkable stage presence.
Alessandro Cammarano. Operaclick.
Àngel Òdena’s tone is warm in both low and high registers. He always sings with beautiful phrasing and profound sentiment.
BluArt
Opéra de Toulouse – Carmen – ESCAMILLO
A perfectly portrayed Escamillo, sung with a robust and homogeneous voice, that effortlessly copes with this role.
Forum Opera
Àngel Òdena’s Escamillo was very convincing.
Le Quotidien
Opéra de Orange – Carmen – ESCAMILLO
A brilliant Escamillo, excellently performed by the Spanish baritone Àngel Òdena.
L'Humanité
Àngel Òdena's Escamillo, was sung with a strong and velvet timbre.
Bernard Georges L' Herault du Jour
Miami Grand Opera – Luisa Fernanda – VIDAL
The Spanish baritone Òdena completely stole the show …there is no adequate adjective to describe this man’s voice. It fills every crevice of the room with vocal resonance. Beyond that, his acting performance was equally magnetic. Where he conveyed passionate love, it was as though sunbeams radiated around his body. Where his character was defeated, it seemed a hole sunk into the stage around his feet. We had never thought we’d say this about a man in knee-high boots, but the guy was downright sexy. We would have happily sat for two hours listening to his voice alone.
New York Times
Opera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria - Manon Lescaut - LESCAUT
Àngel Òdena performed a superb Lescaut, effortlessly singing the difficult passages.
Cayetano Sánchez, Ópera Actual
Opera de Oviedo - Le Villi
Àngel Òdena always sings passionately with round sound. He richly portrays his character. Effortlessly, he could be heard above the brass and woods.
Diana Díaz, La Nueva España
Opéra de Lausanne - Madama Butterfly – SHARPLESS
Àngel Òdena was an absolutely breath-taking Sharpless, appealing in flexibility and generosity.
Bernard Halter, 24 Heures
Opera de Oviedo – Un ballo in Maschera – RENATO
As for its volume, vocal projection, passion and a will to triumph Angel Òdena was definitively the winner. He is one of Spain’s rising stars and his performances in Oviedo are of the highest quality.
Cosme Marina, La Nueva España
With his exceptionally large and round voice, he sings his role with absolute ease and with emotional lyricism in the third act.
Ramón Avello, El Comercio
 
 
ON STAGE
Opéra de Nice – Madama Butterfly - SHARPLESS
 
Gran Teatre del Liceu – Falstaff - FORD
 
Teatro Real Madrid – Madama Butterfly – SHARPLESS
Photographer: Javier de Real
 
Teatro Real Madrid - Simona Boccanegra – PAOLO
Photographer: Javier de Real
 
Teatro Real Madrid - Simona Boccanegra – PAOLO
Photographer: Nacho Gonzalez