KS Carlos Álvarez was born in Málaga and studied at the conservatoire in his hometown. He made his debut as a singer in 1990.

Since then, his international career has brought him to La Scala, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris, Amsterdam, San Francisco, the Hamburg State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Arena di Verona, the Zurich Opera House, the Opera House Bonn, Brussels, Valencia, the Salzburg Festival and the New Yorker Met. He made his debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1995 as Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia). Further roles at the Vienna State Opera include Germont (La traviata), Riccardo (I puritani), Posa (Don Carlo), Sulpice (La Fille du régiment), Carlo Gérard (Andrea Chénier), Don Carlo (Ernani), Don Carlos (La forza del destino), Stankar (Stiffelio), duke of Nottingham (Roberto Devereux), Alphonse XI.