Biography
Alejandro Barrientos-Rupérez is a Spanish singer specializing in early music and baroque opera, originally from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Known for his expressive sensitivity and a deep emotional connection with his repertoire, his artistry is rooted in a simple yet powerful principle: to sing in order to move, to connect, and to set emotions free.
Born in 2000 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Alejandro grew up in a family where music was present as a cherished tradition, though not as a profession. On his father’s side, Canarian folk music was an integral part of family gatherings—offering him, from an early age, a sense of music as a shared experience and emotional expression.
His earliest steps in music took place in his local church choir. Singing there felt natural and joyful, and it was during those formative years that the church organist recognized his vocal potential and encouraged his mother to nurture it. At just eight years old, he joined the Children’s Choir of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Marcela Garrón Velarde.
A year later, he participated in the opera Tosca by Puccini, as part of a children’s chorus at the Pérez Galdós Theatre in a production by Amigos Canarios de la Ópera. This experience ignited a deep passion: for the first time, he felt the intensity of opera from the inside and sensed that music could be his life’s path
In 2015, he began formal vocal studies at the Professional Conservatory of Music of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, under the tutelage of Zulema Cimardi and Isabel Álvarez Azcune. Here, he trained in classical singing and developed his technique through the works of Mozart, Bellini, and Schubert. These composers laid the foundation of his artistic identity.
In the final years of his studies, a decisive moment came: singing in the participatory chorus of Messiah by Handel, organized by Fundación “la Caixa”. This experience opened his ears to the beauty and emotional depth of baroque music. He soon immersed himself in the world of Bach, Monteverdi, Händel, and Frescobaldi, captivated by the expressive richness, rhetoric, and theatricality of the period.
In 2018, he made his debut as a soloist in Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, performing the role of Aeneas in a production by Súbito Koral. This project marked a turning point: it brought together his two great passions — opera and early music — in one single, transformative artistic experience.
In 2021, he moved to the Netherlands to pursue higher education at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, one of Europe’s leading institutions for historically informed performance. There, he studied with esteemed vocal teachers such as Rita Dams and Noa Frenkel, and received coaching from internationally renowned specialists like Francesca Aspromonte, Pascal Bertin, Robin Blaze, and Peter Kooij.
His time in The Hague has been marked by enriching artistic collaborations and high-level performance opportunities. He participated in a transatlantic exchange with The Juilliard School, performing C.P.E. Bach’s Die Israeliten in der Wüste, and sang Messiah by Handel under the baton of Daniel Reuss with the Eighteenth Century Orchestra. He was also selected for the Meesters & Gezellen project led by Yuval Weinberg — a platform designed to connect emerging vocal talents with seasoned professionals.
As a concert soloist, he has performed major sacred works such as J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, and various Bach cantatas. On the operatic stage, he performed the role of Pisandro in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria with the Dutch National Opera Academy, joined the Young Baroque Voices chorus in the Dutch National Opera Studio’s Dido and Aeneas, and is currently preparing for La Révolution de Carmen, a contemporary reinterpretation of Bizet’s classic, produced by the Dutch company Opera2Day.
In 2025, he completed his higher education at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, concluding a chapter of deep artistic and personal growth.
For him, singing is the purest form of emotional communication—something that goes beyond language and speaks directly to the soul. Music is not just a profession: it is a necessity, a way of understanding the world and relating to others with honesty and vulnerability.
He believes in the transformative power of music, not only as entertainment but as a vehicle for emotional liberation. Through his performances, he hopes to create a safe space for audiences to feel deeply, to reconnect with their inner world, and to discover the beauty of lesser-known repertoire.
His greatest aspiration is simple and profound: to make music that inspires him, surrounded by artists and friends who share the same sense of purpose, authenticity, and joy.
