The man behind the voice.

Born in the Dominican Republic on June 22, 1990, Jean Carlos Rodriguez moved to the United States in 1997. From a young age, Rodriguez was a baseball enthusiast with aspirations of becoming a professional player, however those dreams quickly shifted once he fell in love with opera.

Rodriguez was first introduced to opera in high school and has since been enthralled by the dream of singing opera professionally. He pursued a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU). During his tenure, Rodriguez performed the roles of Balthazar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors; The Speaker in Mozart’s The Magic Flute; Henry in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene; Morales and Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen and Marquis de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. 

After graduating in 2013, Rodriguez moved to Tampa where he paused pursuing opera in pursuit of financial stability that would allow him to afford voice lessons to perfect his craft. Within a few years, Rodriguez resumed voice lessons and gained rapport with Opera Tampa. His professional debut was in January 2017 as Paris in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette at the Straz Center for Performing Arts.  Within the same year, Rodriguez performed the role of Vidal Hernando in the highly popular zarzuela, Luisa Fernanda and was also accepted into the prestigious Sherrill Milnes’ Savannah Voice Festival where he sang the title role of Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. 

Since 2018, Rodriguez’s partnership with Opera Tampa has continued to strengthen with roles including Fiorello/Ufficiale in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Schaunard in Puccini’s La Bohème, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, Conte di Luna in Verdi’s Il trovatore and most recently as Gianni Schicchi and Alfio in the double-bill presentation of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. He also continued his work at Savannah Opera with his performance in Puccini’s La Bohème as Marcello and Valentin in Gounod’s Faust. Rodriguez’s award-winning talent has also been acknowledged by industry-leading competitions, including winning Savannah Voice Festival’s Opera Idol and being recognized as a finalist in the renowned Getting to Carnegie competition, where he made his Carnegie Hall debut. In 2022, Rodriguez made his debut with The Florida Orchestra in a series of concerts as the baritone soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana, Finzi’s In Terra Pax and Vaughn William’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols.