Praised for his "voluminous sound" and “imposing, ringing baritone,” Canadian baritone and composer Joel Balzun is establishing himself as a dynamic force both on and off the stage. A recent award-winner in the Wagner Society of New York Singers Competition, he also won the Fulham Opera Robert Presley Memorial Verdi Prize. Highlights of the 2026-2027 season include house débuts with Fort Collins Symphony (Pagliacci), Columbus Symphony (The Creation), San Diego Opera (Rigoletto) and returns to Los Angeles Opera (Hercules vs. Vampires) and Pacific Opera Project (Il fortunato inganno). Recent performance highlights debuts with Princeton Festival and Maryland Opera (Madama Butterfly), Amarillo Opera (Pagliacci), Pittsburgh Opera (Fellow Travelers), Wichita Grand Opera (Ein deutsches Requiem) and Opera Wilmington (Cavalleria rusticana). He recently workshopped and previewed the title role in Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo for the Metropolitan Opera, Chautauqua Opera and NewMusicUSA. www.joelbalzun.com