Born in Puerto Rico, José Cortés completed the Ofelia D’Acosta Acting Academy as well as the Escuela Central de Artes Visuales in San Juan. He studied Spanish literature at the University of Puerto Rico and gained diverse artistic experience in dance, theater, and film.
His path then led him to Berlin, where he completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in opera singing. He worked as an assistant director at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Staatsoper Berlin, and the Oper Graz, among others. This was followed by seminars and directing workshops with Tatjana Gürbaca, Claus Guth, Hans Neuenfels, Nadja Loschky, and Katharina Wagner.
His productions include La Bohème, Così fan tutte, Die Fledermaus, La Calisto, the world premiere of Lovelease, as well as the first festival performance at Goetheplatz with the orchestra and soloists of the Bayreuth Festival.
On March 15, 2025, Cortés makes his debut with Puccini’s Tosca at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden.
In 2025, Cortés made his debut as a film director with The Answering Machine.
Of all works, it is Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” — one of the top ten operas worldwide — with which José Cortés successfully makes his directing debut at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden.
Cortés's premise is spare - a woman, an empty home, and the echoes of what was - yet
It invites us into the quiet ache of a life once filled with applause—a German opera singer, trapped between the grandeur of her art and the silence of her home.