His first contract in North America brought him to the Rialto Theater in New York, where rookie singers would sing before (or after) a movie premiere. He did it once in front of the main actor of the film, Douglas Fairbanks. He stayed in the Rialto from August 1916 until the end of September, when he was offered a contract with the Boston National Grand Opera. He was on tour with them from November 1916 until May 1917 performing in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, Toronto (Canada), Baltimore, New York... Once he’s back from South America he starts a tour with the San Carlo Opera Company. He was very attached to this company until the end of his short career. This new contract started on September 1919 and ended on May 1920 and he performed nonstop in Quebec and Montreal (Canada), Detroit, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rochester, again Canada (Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver…), again the US (Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver, Topeka, Kansas City, Saint Louis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Washington and Providence). On June he signs a contract with the Puccini Grand Opera Company to sign in Philadelphia. Again, another season with the San Carlo Opera Company, from September 1920 until April 1921: a week in Montreal (Canada), a long tour almost all over the US, several other cities in Canada and the end of the season (as far as I know) in Detroit. He then performs in the Colon Theater in Buenos Aires. Back in the US, from the end of December 1921 until February 1922, he performs with the Chicago Opera Association, in Chicago and New York. He shares the stages with figures such as Amelita Galli-Curci, Tito Schipa or the Catalan soprano Graziella Pareto. He then joins the San Francisco Opera Company for two weeks and performs in Palo Alto (California). From June until September he signs a contract with the Ravinia Opera Company to be part of the summer season. At the end of this month, he starts a new season with the San Carlo Opera Company touring several US cities. He then takes a break in the middle of November to join Miguel Fleta’s company in Mexico.

This is one of his career highlights: radio interviews, concerts and a couple of contracts with the Metropolitan in New York, not materialized.

He signs again with the Ravinia Opera Company to be part of the summer season, from the end of June until September 1923, in Chicago.

At some point of time he’s surgically intervened and that doesn’t let him perform for some time. He’s back, May 1924, with the Ravinia Opera Company, in Chicago from June until the end of August. In November 1924 he joins the Metropolitan crew in New York. He’s there the whole season, from November 1924 (with a solo performance in Philadelphia) until the end of March 1925 in New York’s headquarters. On March 29th he does a solo concert in the Carnegie Hall. He sings an opera again in the Metropolitan Opera House in April and another concert as a season end.

By the end of May he performs Gioconda in a Music Festival. In September, Otello in the Manhattan Opera House in New York. Afterwards he tours the US with the Los Angeles Grand Opera Association, where he mainly performs concerts, until December. On December 11th he sings, according to New York’s newspapers, for the Democrat Congress and he also does a large deal of radio performances. On May 7th 1926 sings in the Manhattan Opera House Otello with Alfredo Salmaggi’s company. Once he’s back from Cuba, he performs his last set of concerts in New York with the San Carlo Opera Company: Otello in the Manhattan Opera House on September 29th and in October, Rigoletto and Otello again, where’s he’s presented as a guest star. He then goes back to Spain.

Chicago, January 1922 Portrait of Vicent Ballester	Chicago, January 1922 Vicent Ballester dressed up to play his role in Carmen