Pablo Elvira

Who was Pablo Elvira?

Pablo Elvira was a Puerto Rican baritone. Elvira was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and began his musical career playing jazz trumpet there, with his uncle, Rafael Elvira, in his orchestra, he continued in his father's band and later started his own band who played at the Hotel San Juan. In 1966, he joined the voice faculty of the Indiana University School of Music; during his eight years there he performed baritone roles in many of the school's opera productions.

In 1974, Elvira made his first appearance with the New York City Opera. He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1978 and performed there over 100 times during the next 12 years in works by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Berlioz and Leoncavallo.

Elvira maintained his primary residence in Bozeman, Montana, and was a strong supporter of opera in that state.