Schrott studied singing withFranca Mattiucci. He made his professional debut in Montevideo at the age of 22, singing Roucher inAndrea Chénier. Following a stint at theTeatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile, where he sang Timur inTurandot, Colline inLa bohème, Sparafucile inRigoletto and Ramfis inAida, he won a scholarship to study in Italy.[2]
After winning first prize (male singer) and the Audience Prize in the 1998Operalia competition[3] founded byPlácido Domingo, he went on to leading roles in major opera houses in both Europe and the United States. He made his debut at theVienna State Opera as Banquo inVerdi'sMacbeth on 28 March 1999 and returned there to sing Leporello inDon Giovanni and Figaro inLe nozze di Figaro. AtLa Scala, he has sung the Title role inDon Giovanni and Pharaon inMoïse et Pharaon. His debut at the New YorkMetropolitan Opera came on 30 November 2000 when he sang Colline inLa bohème. He returned to the company in 2005 as Escamillo inCarmen, in 2006 in the Title role inDon Giovanni for the Met's Japan Tour, in 2007 as Figaro inLe nozze di Figaro and in 2008 in the Title role inDon Giovanni. Since his debut at theRoyal Opera House in September 2003 as Leporello inDon Giovanni, Schrott has sung Figaro inLe nozze di Figaro, and the Title role inDon Giovanni with the company. He sang the role of Escamillo (7 December 2009) in the production ofCarmen conducted byDaniel Barenboim, withJonas Kaufmann as Don Josè andAnita Rachvelishvili in the Title role, that opened the season at La Scala.
Schrott's performances on the concert stage include a joint concert withAnna Netrebko conducted by Plácido Domingo in theCentro de Bellas Artes, San Juan, Puerto Rico (9 October 2007),[4] a gala concert for the 5thAbu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, with Anna Netrebko andElīna Garanča (29 March 2008),[5] and a solo concert in theMünchner Residenz (9 November 2008).[6]
In April 2008, concert promoterIan Rosenblatt said that he was planning to sue Schrott for breach of contract when he cancelled his appearance in the Rosenblatt Recital Series for 11 June 2008 atCadogan Hall.[7] The dispute was settled out of court in August 2008 when Schrott agreed to make a donation to charity.[8]
Schrott was married in Uruguay and has a daughter, born in 1998.[9] After the divorce, his wife and daughter stayed in Uruguay.[9] He was for six years the partner of the Russian sopranoAnna Netrebko.[10] They never married, and in November 2013, Netrebko announced that she and Schrott had separated amicably.[11][12] Their son, Tiago Aruã, was born on 5 September 2008 inVienna.[13] In addition to joint concerts in Puerto Rico, Abu Dhabi and Riga, Netrebko and Schrott appeared together inDon Giovanni with the New York Metropolitan Opera's Japan Tour in June 2006[14] and at theRoyal Opera House in June 2007.[15]
