Joshua Staes

Meet baritone Joshua Staes, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. He made his professional debut as JAKE's understudy in Gershwin's PORGY AND BESS at the Open-Air Festival in Szeged, Hungary, in the summer of 2013. He also made his New York debut in 2014 as Sciarrone/Jailer in a production of Puccini's TOSCA with M.O.R.E Opera. With leading roles such as King Melchior in AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, Ben in THE TELEPHONE by Menotti, John Proctor in Robert Ward's THE CRUCIBLE, and Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus, Joshua has proved his talent. He has won prizes in the State and Regional NATS Competition in Louisiana while in college and was a National Finalist in the 2015 Classical Singer's Competition held in Chicago. Joshua graduated with a BA in Music Performance from Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. Recently, he played Count Monterone in Opera Southern's production of Rigoletto Re-imagined and Maurice and The Reporter in Emmett​​ Till by Charles Lloyd Jr.