Born in Mexico City in 1972, Villazón began studying music, acting and ballet at the age of eleven. His first singing teacher sparked his interest in opera in 1990. In the years that followed, Villazón managed two
winning national singing competitions in Mexico. In 1998 he received a scholarship for the Merola Opera
Program of the San Francisco Opera.

Villazón celebrated the start of his international career in 1999 with his acclaimed European debut in Genoa,
immediately followed by successful performances
some of the great opera houses in the world, among
including the Opéra Bastille Paris, the Hamburg State Opera and the Los Angeles Opera. A high point in Rolando Villazón's career was his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in October 2003 as Alfredo in Verdi's “La Traviata”, which was a sensation. At the latest with his engagement at the Salzburg Festival in the summer of 2005, Villazón became a shooting star among tenors. He celebrated triumphs as Alfredo in “La Traviata” alongside Anna Netrebko.