The Spanish baritone Vicente Sardinero was born in Barcelona in 1937 and began his operatic career in Zarzuela. After winning first prize in the Vinas Song Competition in Barcelona, he studied in Milan, and in 1967 won first prize in the Verdi Competition at Bussetto. He made his début at La Scala, Milan, in 1968 as Lord Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor, followed by a five-year engagement with the Vienna State Opera, where he appeared in many important rộles, with a parallel career at major opera houses in Italy. He made his début at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, in 1978. He appears regularly at the major opera houses of Europe, from London’s Covent Garden to Berlin and the Paris Opéra. Vicente Sardinero has recorded a number of major operatic rôles for HMV, CBS, RCA and Philips.