Renowned Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Florez did not hesitate to have a picture taken next to British actor Pierce Brosnan during a stop at the Royal Opera House last week.
As is known, Pierce Brosnan has starred in many popular movies, including the James Bond saga.
Juan Diego Florez was born in Lima on 13 January 1973. His father, Ruben Florez, was a Peruvian music singer, who specialized in vals criollo (Creole waltz) songs, mainly those of famous composer Chabuca Granda. Juan Diego inherited both his father's vocal talent and his love for Peruvian and Latin American music.
His mother, Maria Teresa, another Creole waltz lover, was the driving force behind him, encouraging him to persevere with his musical studies and stick to his goals.
Keen to travel and to continue his education,
Juan Diego earned a scholarship to the prestigious
Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He studied there between 1993 and 1996, and had the opportunity to sing in a number of fully staged complete operas, with an orchestra, an excellent foundation for what was to turn out to be a spectacular career.