Jesus M.

Praised by Opera News as “utterly loveable, with an expansive sound and easy stage presence,” bass-baritone, Jesús Vicente Murillo has been performing opera, musical theater, concerts and art song across North America since making his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre as The Android in The Very Last Green Thing at the age of eighteen. In the 2024-25 season, Murillo performs the role of Il Principe di Bouillon in Pittsburgh Opera’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Voltaire/Pangloss in Opera Tampa’s Candide, Erster Soldadt in Salome with National Sawdust, and returns to Opera San José to play Schaunard in La Bohème and Sergeant José Maria Gomez in Héctor Armienta’s Zorro. Concert engagements include Winterreise with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Verdi’s Requiem with The Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, Hollywood Spectacular with Symphony San Jose, and a recital series at the historic Filoli Gardens in collaboration with Opera San Jose.

Last season, Murillo made his house debut with Portland Opera, where he “exhibited energy and style with a robust baritone” (Northwest Reverb) in the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. He also joined the North Dakota State University Chamber Music Festival to sing the role of Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress and made house debuts at Anchorage Opera as the Commentator in Scalia/Ginsburg, Nashville Opera as Papageno in The Magic Flute, and the Helena Symphony as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana. Finally, Murillo sang as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Concerts at St. Ignatius (NYC).

Murillo made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2022-23 season as Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo. His other recent roles have included César Chávez in Nicolas Benavides' Dolores with West Edge Opera, Don Fernando in Fidelio with Opera Middlebury, and Figaro in ¡Figaro! (90210) with Chautauqua Opera. He played a “self-assured, assertive” Doctor Bartolo with a “vigorous, rich bass-baritone” (San Diego Story) in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Neo, a role he previously covered at Santa Fe Opera. He has performed with companies including Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, El Paso Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Baltimore Concert Opera, Bare Opera, the Chamber Cartel of Atlanta, and has made numerous appearances with Opera Saratoga, Opera Louisiane, Charlottesville Opera, Caramoor and Opera in Williamsburg. In 2019, Murillo completed a two-year residency with Utah Opera where he sang over 450 performances with the company.  

While a highly accomplished performer, Murillo has also been teaching for over a decade. Over the years, Murillo has learned that there is fundamentally no one-size-fits-all method to vocal education. Flexibility, comfort, and enjoyability are the three pillars of his studio, and when supported by these, both student and teacher are able to create a learning environment that allows for lessons that are productive, positive and fun. It is his goal to custom-tailor his approach to each individual student, based on their technical proficiency, natural ability, and personal goals. For beginning students, lessons with Murillo approach the fundamental techniques of singing (legato, onsets, aural skills, breath support) through the lens of Choral Music, Italian Art Song, English/American Art Song, Golden-Age Musical Theater, and Vaccai exercises. Murillo's more advanced students study German/French art songs in addition to arias by Mozart, Handel, Rossini, Donizetti, Gilbert and Sullivan, Bach, and others.

Mr. Murillo received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music in Opera and Voice Performance from McGill University in Montréal, Québec. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and looks forward to helping you create a unique game plan to build your voice into the best instrument it can be!