Praised for his “Outstanding Singing” and “Big, bass-y baritone” by The Dallas Morning News,
dramatic baritone Joseph Canuto Leon is an emerging artist beginning to make strides in the classical
voice world. Originally from Des Moines, Joseph has been featured with Florida Grand Opera, The Dallas
Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Charlottesville Opera, American Baroque Opera Company, Painted Sky Opera, Peach State Opera,  and Opera on the James.

Major roles in Joseph’s repertoire include Giorgio Germont (La traviata), Tonio and Silvio

(I pagliacci), Marcello and Schaunard (La bohème), Il conte d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Onegin (Eugene Onegin), Ford (Falstaff),  Father (Hansel and Gretel), The Four Villains (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Donner (Das Rheingold), Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow), Garibaldo (Rodelinda), Polyphemus (Acis and
Galatea), and Belcore (The Dallas Opera’s abridged production of The Elixir of Love).

His recent performance as Barone Douphol in Florida Grand Opera’s 2023 production of La
traviata garnered strong reviews from multiple critics. South Florida Classical Review said, “...Joseph
Canuto Leon brought a domineering menace to Baron Douphol…The relationship between Violetta and
Baron Douphol was front and center from the opera’s beginning rather than a reaction to abandoning
Alfredo." As Schaunard in La bohéme, Opera News raved "A pleasant surprise was the high-profile Schaunard of studio artist Joseph Canuto Leon. Thanks in part to Cooksey’s canny and keen-eyed staging, Leon made Schaunard’s early-on description of his successful day seem like a mini-aria — even though the other three men were singing in background counterpoint, and this character doesn’t have an extended solo."

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Joseph is a graduate of the University of North Texas (MM 2017) and Iowa State University (BM
2013, George Washington Carver Scholar) and is a voice student of baritone Michael Chioldi. His professional training came as a member of the Young Artist Programs of Florida Grand Opera (2023-2024), The Dallas Opera (2021-2023), Chautauqua Opera (2024), Charlottesville Opera (2022), Opera on the James (2019), and the Russian Opera Workshop at AVA (2020).