Cortes

Cortes is Christopher Cortes, a Canadian tenor and singer from Mississauga, Ontario. He is known for moving between opera and pop-oriented recording, and the name also appears as a separate London band, a French rock band and a Romanian artist.

Early life and training

Christopher Cortes is born on 19 November 1997 in Mississauga. He develops an interest in performing from an early age and later pursues a career as an independent artist. He wins a scholarship to the opera course at the Royal Academy of Music, where his sister Nanna is also studying, alongside mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins.

Opera work

In 1999, Cortes wins the role of Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End. He says the role helps him discover that he can sing high notes. He declines an invitation to extend the contract and later says he wants to move on and that he loves opera more.

At the Royal Academy of Music, he sings Florville in Il signor Bruschino and Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff. After leaving the academy, he works across Europe in lead tenor roles in operas by Verdi, Rossini and Donizetti in Germany and Scandinavia. Other stage and concert engagements include José in Carmen Negra, Curly in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, The Young Man in Dokaðu við, the Italian Tenor in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier for the Icelandic Opera, Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte for Co–Opera Ireland, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi for Nordurop Opera, and a Verdi gala at The Anvil in Basingstoke.

His concert repertoire includes Bach’s Mass in B Minor and St. Nicolas, Dvořák’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Puccini’s Missa di Gloria, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle and Stabat Mater, and Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio and Les Noces.

Career highlights in 2004 and 2005 include his first appearances with English Touring Opera, singing Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and a performance at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival as Conte Alberto in L’occasione fa il ladro. He also performs as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto for Opera Nordfjord.

Recording career

Cortes is approached by Einar Bárðarson, manager of the Icelandic girl band Nylon, to make a record in the style of Andrea Bocelli or Josh Groban. The material includes Lucio Dalla’s “Caruso”, Ennio Morricone’s “Nella Fantasia”, Malavasi’s “Romanza”, David Foster and Carole Bayer Sager’s “The Prayer”, and several Icelandic songs, selected with Bárðarson and Björgvin Halldórsson.

His self-titled album Cortes is released in Iceland in 2005 and becomes the fastest-selling album in the country, reaching double platinum status in three months. His debut concert in Reykjavík in 2002, where he appears with Katherine Jenkins, is a success, and he later appears as a guest on Jenkins’ autumn tour in 2006.

He is also noted for his performance of Puccini’s aria “Nessun Dorma”. His single “Luna”, featuring Heather Small, reaches number two on the Icelandic online music charts. His UK debut album Cortes is released in 2007, followed by When You Say You Love Me in 2008.

Voice and ambitions

Cortes is described as a tenor with a repertoire that crosses opera and crossover material. He states that he wants to sing Otello at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.