JOEL BALZUN
BARITONE
BIOGRAPHY
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 grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation, he has also been awarded prizes in the Wagner Society of New York Singers Competition and the Fulham Opera Robert Presley Memorial Verdi Prize. This season’s highlights include role débuts as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly and Tonio in Pagliacci with Pacific Opera Project, house debuts with Amarillo Opera (Pagliacci), Pittsburgh Opera (Fellow Travelers) and Wichita Grand Opera (Ein deutsches Requiem) as well as a world premiere by Dale Trumbore with support from the Barlow Endowment. He also returns to Opera Laguna for Messiah and San Luis Obispo Master Chorale for works of Beach, Dvořák, and Mozart. Recent performance highlights include his house debut at Chautauqua Opera as Marcello in La bohème and the title role in Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Lincoln in the Bardo, which he also previewed for the Metropolitan Opera. Other recent performance highlights include notable debuts at Los Angeles Opera (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Opera Las Vegas (Schaunard in La bohème). His role and house debut as Escamillo in Union Avenue Opera’s Carmen was hailed as “swaggering, supremely self-confident” with a “thunderous” and “booming” voice.
With performances spanning Carnegie Hall to the Kennedy Center, Mr. Balzun’s diverse repertoire includes the title roles in Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, Dead Man Walking, and Telemann’s Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding, as well as Germont in La traviata, the Four Villains in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Yeletskiy and Tomskiy in Pikovaya Dama, Albert in Werther, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Valentin in Faust. Other notable roles include Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas, Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande, Hunter in Rusalka, Sid in Albert Herring, John Brooke in Little Women, and Marquis de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites. A passionate interpreter of Richard Strauss, he has excelled as Mandryka in Arabella and Jupiter in Die Liebe der Danae. In past seasons he has appeared with Calgary Concert Opera, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Claremont Symphony Orchestra, Opera Buffs Inc., Opera Santa Barbara, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Prima Voce Emerging Artist Recital Series, and Rio Hondo Symphony Orchestra, in addition to giving recitals across North America. An avid chamber musician, he has enjoyed collaborations with instrumentalists from the Baltimore, Cincinnati, Minnesota, San Bernardino, and Vancouver orchestras, as well as faculty members of the nation’s finest conservatories.
Read More
On the concert stage, Mr. Balzun has performed Copland's Old American Songs, Fauré's Requiem, Haydn's The Creation, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Per questa bella mano, as well as Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem and Five Mystical Songs. His acclaimed performance of Bach's Johannes-Passion with the Rochester Bach Festival was broadcast multiple times across the U.S.
A decorated competitor, Mr. Balzun has earned prizes from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Los Angeles District & Western Region), Pasadena Vocal Competition, Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition, Orpheus National Vocal Competition, NATS Artist Awards, and more. He has also been a finalist in the Rochester International Voice Competition, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Concours, Premiere Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition, and Vincerò World Singing Competition.
A champion of contemporary music, he received critical acclaim for his portrayal of Joseph de Rocher in Dead Man Walking with Miami Music Festival, working closely with Jake Heggie on the role and excerpts from Three Decembers. He recently originated the role of Ivan Brisilov in the world premiere of Arkhipov by Stephanie Fleischmann and Peter Knell, conducted by Daniela Candillari. Other modern works include Rochberg’s String Quartet No. 7 and Maxwell Davies’ Eight Songs for a Mad King. His professional debut in 2011 was in the world premiere of El canguro by Peter Michael von der Nahmer. In 2021, he launched Black Dog Commission, a new initiative for art song repertoire addressing mental illness, premiering a new work by Tom Cipullo with plans to premiere another work by Dale Trumbore.
Also an accomplished composer, Mr. Balzun’s “haunting and beautiful” music has received international recognition, earning prizes from the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, Dallas Winds’ Call for Fanfares, and the Classical Marimba League International Composition Competition. A finalist for the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Awards, he also won the Grand Prize and Young Composers Prize in the National Broadcast Orchestra’s Galaxie Rising Star Composers’ Competition. His music has been performed worldwide, including by Alberta Winds, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, CCM Wind Orchestra, Dallas Winds, and La Orquestra Vientos de Costa Rica, and broadcast on CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique. His works are published by C. Alan Publications, Lovebird Music, and NewMusicShelf.
Mr. Balzun holds a master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Jan Opalach and Benton Hess. He was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera, Chautauqua Opera and Opera Saratoga and a fellowship recipient at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute and Tanglewood Music Center. He has benefited from the mentorship of Reid Bruton, Jane Eaglen, William Lock, Anthony Manoli, Michelle Minke, Bob Mollicone, Judith Natalucci, and Sanford Sylvan.
Current as of November 12, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
“... balancing baritone weight with unsettling candor…” – Stage and Cinema
Pagliacci – “Joel Balzun’s Tonio suggested both menace and wounded pride, his opening Prologue balancing baritone weight with unsettling candor.”
__________
“...wonderful vocal power…” – Broadway World
Carmen – “Joel Balzun sings this rock-star bull-fighter, and he well deserves the praises of the crowd. His wonderful vocal power makes a triumph of the “Toreador Song”.”
__________
“...a standout performance…” – The Santa Barbara Independent
La Traviata – “…Alfredo’s father Giorgio Germont, in a standout performance by baritone Joel Balzun.”
__________
“...showing style, agility, musical and linguistic precision…” – Opera News
Don Quichotte – “Due to indisposition, the scheduled Quichotte, [redacted], vividly mimed his part while baritone Joel Balzun doubled his duties as a shepherd with an impressive on-score performance showing style, agility, musical and linguistic precision. …Balzun…showed off the voice best trained and adapted for Baroque music.”
__________
“...at this moment, the stage was his…” – Opera Today
L’enfant et les sortilèges – “Joel Balzun regaled us with one of the best star turns of the day as Ravel’s Clock. Wedding uninhibited, goofy stage business to his ringing, imposing baritone, Mr. Balzun served notice that at this moment, the stage was his. Earlier, he contributed a firmly presented take on Puccini’s Betto.”