José Mª Cervera Collado was born in Buñol near Valencia and studied at the Conservatorio Superior de Música in Valencia and the Accademia Musicale Chigliana de Siena under Franco Ferrara, where he obtained an honour prize.

    He was made director of the Valencia municipal orchestra in 1973 and later, by express invitation of the composer Hans Werner Henze, he was named director of the Montepuciano International Festival (1977- 83).

    He was music director at Kalsruhe theatre opera from 1985 to 1990.

    As guest director he has directed: the Vienna Philharmonic, the Salzbourg Mozarteum, the London Philharmonic, the Munich Radio Bavaria, the Berlin Symphony, Hamburg Radio, the Royal London Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Hague Residency, Hilversum Radio, French National, Lamoreaux and Paris conservatory, Vancouver Symphonic, Quebec Radio, Budapest Radio, Spanish National, the Philharmonic of Las Palmas and the symphonic orchestras of Barcelona, Tenerife, and Madrid.

    He has worked with M. Maisky, B. Belkin, N. Yepes, J. Achúcarro, D. Baskirov, Y. Brofman, G. Saham, A. Watts, and H. Schiff.

    As operatic director, he has directed the Milan Scala, the Vienna Staatsoper, the New York Metropolitan, the Paris Bastille opera, as well as the operas of Zurich, Stockholm, Copenhague, Athens, Munich, Turin, Trieste, Bari, and Pisa. He has also directed the Liceo in Barcelona, the Spanish Teatro Lírico Nacional de la Zarzuela, and the Epidauro in Athens.

    Among others, he has directed: Caballé, Domingo, Cappuccilli, Carreras, Kraus, Marton, Nucci, Aragall, Cottrubas, Kollo, Ricciarelli, and Hendricks.

    He has been invited to participate in the international festivals of Vienna, Edinburgh, Santander, Berlin, Granada, Hong Kong, Glasgow, Peralada, Prague, and Macerata.

    He has recorded operatic arias and duos with Caballé, Ricciarelli, Kollo, Carreras, Marton, and the radio orchestras of Munich, Vancouver, and the London Royal Philharmonic.

    He received the golden applause award in Milan in 1985, together with the baritone Piero Cappuccilli.