In the spectacular setting of Split’s Peristil, on July 26th and 28th, as part of the 71st Split Summer Festival, Puccini’s Tosca will come to life in all its glory thanks to three outstanding soloists: the lead role of the passionate Floria Tosca will be performed by renowned soprano Lesja Alekseeva, while one of today’s most promising tenors, José Simerilla Romero, will sing the role of Mario Cavaradossi, and the infamous Baron Scarpia will be portrayed by the powerful Croatian baritone Grga Peroš.

José Simerilla Romero

Praised for his “powerful voice of striking quality” (Opera News) and “strength, passion, and lyrical finesse” (Opera Magazine), Argentine-Spanish-American tenor José Simerilla Romero will reprise the role of Alfredo in La traviata during the 2025/26 season at Theater Basel, Komische Oper Berlin, the Festival Internacional de Santa Lucia, and in his debut at the Bregenz Festival. He also returns to the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for his debut with Teatro Municipal de Santiago, performs as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Semperoper Dresden, Ildemaro in Dalinda at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw, and appears in a gala performance at the Sigulda Opera Festival in Latvia.

In the previous season, he sang Alfredo in La traviata at Theater Basel, Dorset Opera, and Opera Western Reserve, made his debut as Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele at Semperoper Dresden, debuted as Cavaradossi in Tosca in a co-production of Opera de Limoges and Opera de Vichy, appeared as Ismaele in Nabucco at Deutsche Oper Berlin, sang Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for his debut at New National Theater Tokyo, returned to Staatsoper Hannover for staged performances of Verdi’s Requiem, and performed in concert with acclaimed soprano Erica Nakamura and the Latvian National Opera.

Mr. Romero recently debuted at the English National Opera as Alfredo in La traviata, performed the role of Pinkerton with Dorset Opera, and gave a concert with the Neue Philharmonie München. He also returned to Staatsoper Hannover for his debuts as Lensky in Eugene Onegin, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, and in Verdi’s Requiem.

His recent engagements also include Laërte in Hamlet (Komische Oper debut), Rodolfo in La bohème, Prince Gvidon in The Tale of Tsar Saltan, and Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites at Staatsoper Hannover; Alfredo and Rodolfo with the Nederlandse Reisopera; his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Jaquino in Fidelio under Gustavo Dudamel; Rodolfo at the Grand Teton Music Festival with Donald Runnicles; the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto for his debuts with Florida Grand Opera and Daytona Symphony; and his debut with the San Francisco Symphony as the Shepherd in Oedipus Rex. His concert repertoire includes Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Bach’s St John Passion, Handel’s Messiah, and Brahms’ Liebeslieder Waltzes.

Mr. Simerilla Romero has received awards from the 41st International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, Chicago International Music Competition, Camerata Bardi International Vocal Competition, Jensen Foundation International Vocal Competition, Opera Foundation, Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions, Manhattan International Music Competition, Kyrenia Opera Vocal Competition, Vienna International Music Competition, Berliner International Music Competition, Vero Beach Opera’s “Rising Star” Competition, Orpheus Vocal Competition, and Tampa Bay Symphony’s Jack Heller Competition. He has participated in the Young Artist Vocal Academy at Houston Grand Opera, the Young Artist Program at LA Opera, Dutch National Opera & Ballet Studio, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. He holds degrees from Valencia College and Stetson University.

_______________

Grga Peroš was born on April 18, 1983, in Zagreb, Croatia. He began his musical education at a preschool age and continued it through secondary school at the Elly Bašić School of Music. In 2002, he began studying philosophy and information sciences at the University of Zagreb. In 2011, he enrolled as a full-time vocal performance student at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, in the class of Professor Ulf Bästlein (O. Univ. Prof. Mag. art. Dr. phil.).

His solo experience includes both concert and stage performances in productions at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, including roles such as Ramiro in L’heure espagnole, Mr. Fluth in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte—not only in Graz, but also on the stage of the Deutsche Oper Berlin under conductor Moritz Gnann. His success was recognised with scholarships from the City of Graz and the Friends of KUG Society in 2012 and 2013.

In the summer of 2015, he performed the role of Count Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Young Opera Schloss Weikersheim (Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland), under the musical direction of Bruno Weil.

During the 2015/2016 season, he was a member of the ensemble at the City Theatre in Klagenfurt, where he appeared in two productions: Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Starveling), conducted by Alexander Soddy, and Bizet’s Carmen (Dancaïre), under the baton of Lorenzo Viotti.

He returned to Klagenfurt in the 2016/2017 season, this time appearing in Strauss’s Salome as the First Soldier, again under the direction of Alexander Soddy.

Since December 2016, he has been a member of the ensemble at Stadttheater Gießen, where he has performed numerous significant roles, including Scherasmin in Weber’s Oberon, the Caliph in Cornelius’s The Barber of Baghdad, Marcel Proust in Schnittke’s Life with an Idiot, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Lörenthy in Kálmán’s operetta Autumn Manoeuvres, Harlequin in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and Fra Melitone in Verdi’s La forza del destino. All of these productions were conducted by Michael Hofstetter, except The Barber of Baghdad and Life with an Idiot, which were conducted by Jan Hoffmann and Martin Spahr, respectively.

Currently, he is a member of the Staatstheater Hannover (Germany). 

The Split audience last had the opportunity to see him in the opera Pagliacci, where he once again affirmed his expressiveness and strong stage presence.