Born in Bogota, Colombia; tenor Carlos Cardenas is currently part of the opera chorus at the Norwegian Opera & Ballet since 2024.

He studied Music Education at the Universidad Pedagogica in his hometown and subsequently obtained his masters at University of Notre Dame, followed by the Artist Diploma at College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, United States. In 2020 he started his European career at the Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt wherein he studied under the tutelage of Neil Shicoff, Edith Wiens and Brigitte Fassbender, and worked in numerous productions as a soloist. He also worked as a guest in Staatsoper Stuttgart, Staatsoper Hamburg and Tiroler Festspiele Erl. During his time in Europe, he has been part of productions by Barry Kosky, Christoph Loy, Peter Konwitschny, Matthew Wild, among others. He has also collaborated with prominent conductors like Edward Gardner, Titus Engel, Sebastian Weigle, Erik Nielsen and Giuliano Carella.