The first countertenor to join the Académie of the Opéra national de Paris, Fernando Escalona made his debut in 2020 on the stage of the Palais Garnier in the role of the Second Aunt in Yvonne, Princesse de Bourgogne by Philippe Boesmans, and was awarded the Prix lyrique of the AROP (Association pour le Rayonnement de l’Opéra de Paris) in March 2022.

He recently performed the role of Nerone (L’Incoronazione di Poppea) at the Opéra de Dijon and the Théâtre de l’Athénée in Paris, then Arnalta in the same opera at the Teatro Julio Santo Domingo in Bogotá (Colombia), again with Le Poème Harmonique conducted by Vincent Dumestre; Licida (L’Olimpiade by Vivaldi) at the Opéra de Nice under the direction of Jean-Christophe Spinosi; Achille (L’Orfeo by Sartorio) under the direction of Philippe Jarrousky; La Morte (Il Trionfo della Morte by Aliotti) with Les Traversées Baroques; and the Wolf (La petite fille, le loup et le chasseur by Vasco Mendonça) at the Amphithéâtre Bastille.

In concert, he has sung at the “Voix d’Automne” festival in Évian-les-Bains with Leonardo García Alarcón, at the Festival Radio-France Montpellier Occitanie with the ensemble Il Caravaggio led by Camille Delaforge, at the La Chaise-Dieu festival with Les Accents conducted by Thibault Noally (Oloferne in La Giuditta), in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Ensemble Matheus at the Chapelle de la Trinité in Lyon, at the Idéal festival at the Potager du Roi alongside pianist Olga Dubynska, and regularly performs in concert with Le Poème Harmonique conducted by Vincent Dumestre.

Fernando Escalona began his vocal training in Venezuela with Margot Parès-Reyna as part of El Sistema, then with Isabel Palacios at the Camerata Barroca de Caracas. He also attended masterclasses with Mirella Freni, Katia Ricciarelli, Laura Claycomb, Markus Marquardt, Michael Pinkerton, Gerald Wirth, and Chantal Mathias.

He was soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Simón Bolivar Orchestra (conducted by César Ivan-Lara), then in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Caracas Youth Orchestra (conducted by Christian Vásquez). In 2016, he joined the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles under the guidance of Olivier Schneebelli and took part in numerous ensemble productions such as Les Horaces by Salieri conducted by Christophe Rousset and Les Fêtes d’Hébé by Rameau, in collaboration with the Académie of the Opéra national de Paris and the Royal College of Music in London, under the direction of Jonathan Williams.

He was a finalist in the 2018 Marmande International Singing Competition.

Alongside his solo career, he continues his work as assistant vocal coach with the Simón Bolivar National Choir of Venezuela, of which he is a founding member and with which he has toured internationally alongside conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Johan de Meij, Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, and Gustavo Dudamel.

Fernando Escalona has been represented by RSB Artists agency since 2020.