Hailed by Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times as “vocally robust” and “lyrically malevolent”, American Bass-Baritone Joseph Barron was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has recently appeared at the Metropolitan Opera as Happy in La fanciulla del West and covered the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Police Officer in Boris Godunov. During the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Barron makes his role and company debut as Don Pizarro in Fidelio with Opera North Carolina, reprises Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Finger Lakes Opera, makes his role debut as Colline with Charlottesville Opera, and return to the Metropolitan Opera to once again cover the title role in Le nozze di Figaro. Recent debuts include Opera Hong Kong and New Orleans Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids as the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Virginia Opera as Kaspar in Der Freischütz, Bard Summerscape as Basmanov in Dvorak’s Dimitrij, and the Berkshire Opera Festival as Sparafucile in Rigoletto. Mr. Barron also returned to The Princeton Festival for Don Pizarro in Fidelio and Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China. In future seasons, he is set to make significant company and role debuts with Dallas Opera and Atlanta Opera. Mr. Barron has previously joined the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Turandot, Salome, Tannhäuser, Rigoletto, Don Carlo, The Exterminating Angel, and The Nose. He appeared at the San Francisco Opera in the world premiere of The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and with the Aix-en-Provence Festival and La Fenice as Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea. He also sang with The Glimmerglass Festival as Ramfis in Aïda, Grandpa Moss in The Tender Land, and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro. Additionally, Mr. Barron performed with Opera Philadelphia as Leporello in Don Giovanni and Montano in Otello, Pittsburgh Opera as Masetto in Don Giovanni, Prophet/Larry King in Dark Sisters, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Geronimo in Il matrimonio segreto, Monterone in Rigoletto, Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, and The Bonze in Madama Butterfly, at The Spoleto Festival as Roldano in Cavalli’s Veremonda, Arizona Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni and Monterone in Rigoletto, and The Princeton Festival as Swallow in Peter Grimes. Other roles Mr. Barron has performed include Count Rodolfo in La sonnambula, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Enobarbus in Antony and Cleopatra, Wilhelm Reischmann in Elegy for Young Lovers, Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women, Erste Handwerksbursche in Wozzeck, Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, Gaudenzio in Il signor Bruschino, and Don Prudenzio in Il viaggio a Reims. Recent concert engagements include his debut at Carnegie Hall with the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Handel’s Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Eugene Symphony’s holiday pop concert, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Mulhouse Symphony Orchestra. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Barron has garnered top prizes from the Sullivan Foundation, the Opera Index Vocal Competition, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and the Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus Vocal Competition. He received his Master of Music at the Curtis Institute of Music and his Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.