Arturo Chacón-Cruz remembers his monthly childhood trips to the Tucson Mall from his native Sonora, Mexico.
Yes, he admits, he was probably a mall rat in his 1990s youth.
But Tucson holds a much deeper place in the 41-year-old singer’s life than just shopping junkets.
“I was probably 19 years old the first time I sang in the States and it was in Tucson” at the University of Arizona, the tenor said in a phone call last week from a concert gig in Honduras.
Chacón-Cruz returns to Tucson this month as the artist-in-residence with the seventh annual Tucson Desert Song Festival’s “Latin Celebration.”
On Jan. 25, he will perform a recital that is presented by the Consulate of Mexico in Tucson, the Arizona Opera and the Arizona Opera Guild of Tucson.
His Tucson performance at Holsclaw Hall will be a far more intimate affair than his concert in Honduras on Jan. 10, opening for opera superstar Placido Domingo. That one was held in a 12,000-seat sports stadium at the National Autonomous University of Honduras.
Eight days later, he appeared with Domingo in France for the Paris Philharmonie’s Verdi Gala. He’ll return to Paris in July for another engagement with Domingo, who Chacón-Cruz credits with giving him the direction and confidence to become one of opera’s most celebrated young tenors.
“It is kind of surreal. It has surpassed every fantasy,” Chacón-Cruz said. “When I was a student and we would find out that (Domingo) was coming to Mexico City to sing, I imagined being at the same theater … and meeting him and shaking hands.”
That fantasy became reality in 2000 when the then 21-year-old, then a singer with a young artist program, was invited to open a concert in Mexico City for the famous tenor. At the time, Chacón-Cruz was singing baritone.
“I sung my aria and he was in the wings conducting along with the orchestra. I was so nervous. He was right there hearing and watching me singing,” Chacón-Cruz said.
As he walked off stage, he passed by Domingo.
“I said, ‘Maestro it’s nice to meet you.’ And he said. ‘After the concert, I want to talk to you. I have something to say to you. Come and find me after,’” Chacóon-Cruz recalled.
Later that night, he met up with Domingo, who lavished him with praise and an intriguing suggestion: “Have you considered singing as a tenor, not as a baritone? I think you are a strong tenor.”
Chacón-Cruz took that professional advice, and what followed over the next several years was nothing shy of remarkable, including his 2005 win at the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition that put his name and talents on the radar of major opera companies worldwide.
He’s stood on many of their stages in the past dozen years and has sung 50 roles and counting in at least 25 countries with a far-flung repertoire that spans Bellini and Donizetti to Puccini and Verdi.
In the next few months, he will sing the title role in “The Tales of Hoffman” in Italy, Alfredo in “La Traviata” in Oman, Faust in “The Damnation of Faust” in Mexico City and Rafael in “El Gato Montés” with the Los Angeles Opera.
But not before he comes home to Tucson and the Sonoran Desert. The father of one who now calls Miami home will reunite with family on his trip to Tucson. Many of them will likely be in the audience for his Song Festival recital, he said. And yes, he added with a laugh, they might just find time to visit the Tucson Mall.
