French Tenor Ismaël Billy to Make Cuban Debut

The Basilica Minor of the Convent of San Francisco de Asís in Havana is finalizing details for the Cuban debut of French tenor Ismaël Billy on January 17.

The concert program will include arias from French and Italian operas, works by composers renowned in the genre of French Chanson, and a Russian romance.

The French artist will be accompanied by Cuban guests Vilma Garriga on piano, soprano Isabel Torres, and baritone Carlos Manuel González, the latter two being soloists from the "Rodrigo Prats" Lyric Theater in the Cuban city of Holguín.

According to information provided by the event's producer and artistic director, Helson Hernández, the French tenor will offer a master class on the morning of January 19 at the theater of the National Museum of Music.

The initiative is intended for young performers from the Cuban lyrical movement, some still in training and students of the country's notable genre interpreters such as Katia Selva, Bárbara Llanes, Roger Quintana, Ubail Zamora, and Ivette Betancourt.

A classically trained dancer, Ismaël Billy found his vocation thanks to Isabelle Germain. He was later discovered by Sicilian tenor Marcello Giordani and Russian cello master Mark Drobinsky, a student of Rostropovich in the 1950s.

He was a semi-finalist in the "Grandes Voces de África" competition, and in 2025 was named a jury member for the "Salzburger KlangKrone" International Singing Competition alongside Nora Amsellem, adds the press release.

He has shared the stage with prominent figures of the world lyrical scene, including French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky and Benjamin Bernheim, and has participated in various international festivals.

In 2022, he performed Vaughn Williams' Sea Symphony in Brighton and a lyrical version of the Olympique Lyonnais anthem at the Groupama Stadium.

"Sensitive to the 19th-century opera repertoire, Billy interprets the great arias of the Italian repertoire, from Tosca, Elixir of Love, Cavalleria Rusticana, L'Arlesiana, Traviata and Turandot, establishing himself in the French repertoire with the leading roles for his tenor voice in the operas Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, Faust and Werther."

He has also ventured into literature, with a special interest in poetry. His latest publication, Amores siberianos, by Ediciones del Cisne, was awarded the 2018 Causa Literaria Prize and named the best poetic work of the year.

The presentation is sponsored by Radio CMBF Radio Musical Nacional, the National Center of Concert Music, the Cuban Institute of Music, the Cuban Ministry of Culture, the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, and the Embassy of France.