Univ.-Prof. Hon.-Prof.
Mario Antonio Diaz Varas
The Chilean tenor Mario Diaz specialises in spinto-dramatic repertoire and has performed widely in the operatic field. Since 2009 he has been Professor of Voice at the Mozarteum University Salzburg, where he teaches and supports young singers preparing for professional careers. He has also taught at the International Summer Academy of the Mozarteum University and is regularly invited to give masterclasses internationally. In 2018 he was awarded the title “Honorary Professor of Kemerovo State University of Culture” in the Russian Federation.
The Chilean tenor Mario Diaz began his musical training at an early age, initially studying guitar performance at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest. He subsequently pursued vocal studies at the Stockholm University College of Opera with Nicolai Gedda. His teachers also included Monica Pick-Hieronimi, Kerstin Meyer, Ubaldo Gardini and Bruno Rigacci. Artistic encounters with Birgit Nilsson, Giuseppe Giacomini, Ingvar Wixell and Gösta Winberg provided further inspiration for his artistic development.
He was a finalist in the Concorso Internazionale Voci Verdiane in Busseto and in the Luciano Pavarotti Singing Competition in Modena.
After completing his opera studies at the Stockholm University College of Opera, he received his first engagement at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, where he appeared under the direction of Ingmar Bergman. This marked the beginning of an international singing career. He has collaborated with conductors including Carlo Franci, Bruno Rigacci, Sixten Ehrling and Siegfried Köhler, and with directors such as August Everding and Folke Abinius.
Mario Diaz has a particular affinity for late Romantic and verismo repertoire and has specialised in spinto-dramatic roles. Among the roles with which he has enjoyed particular success are Luigi (Il tabarro), Don José (Carmen), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Maurizio (Adriana Lecouvreur), and the title roles in Don Carlo, Otello and Andrea Chénier.
In addition to his operatic work, he has long been active in the field of art song. Reflecting both his South American origins and his longstanding connection to Sweden, he has devoted particular attention to repertoire from these traditions, including works by Carlos Guastavino and Astor Piazzolla as well as songs by Edvard Grieg and Jean Sibelius.