Joseph Dennis

Texas-born tenor Joseph Dennis studied at The Juilliard School and has earned numerous awards, including Grand Final winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the top prize at the Gerda Lissner Foundation competition. He quickly made his debut in leading roles such as Boris (“Katya Kabanova”, Seattle Opera), Des Grieux and Števa (“Manon” and “Jenůfa”, Des Moines Metro Opera), and at the Spoleto Festival USA in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s “Paradise Interrupted”. Other highlights include Alfredo (“La traviata”), Tamino (“Die Zauberflöte”), Duca (“Rigoletto”), Edgardo (“Lucia di Lammermoor”), and The Governor (“Candide”).

His European career began at the Wiener Staatsoper, where he performed Tamino, Alfredo, Werther, Ernesto, and more. Since 2018, he has been a soloist at the Semperoper Dresden, regularly performing Tamino, Lenski, Belmonte, Don Ottavio, Ferrando, and the Steersman in “Der fliegende Holländer”.

He made his Prague National Theatre debut in “Kleider machen Leute”, performing the title role of Wenzel Strapinski, a role he reprised in 2023/24, alongside his debut at Washington National Opera as Eric (“Grounded”). Other recent highlights include Ismaele (“Nabucco”, Dresden), Pinkerton (“Madama Butterfly”, Israeli Opera), and Ritter Hugo (“Undine”, Oper Leipzig).

Starting with the 2024/25 season, Dennis will focus on his freelance career, making his role debut as Faust (“La Damnation de Faust”, Santa Fe Symphony) and joins the Buffalo Philharmonic as Alfredo (“La traviata”).