Major winner, 2011
Joseph Gaines is a highly versatile and increasingly sought-after operatic and concert artist. He has been praised for his beautifully-sung and well-acted interpretations of tenor character roles. Opera News has raved about several of his performances, including Indianapolis Opera's productions of Falstaff, The Magic Flute, and Ariadne auf Naxos.
A 2007 winner of the prestigious Sullivan Foundation Awards, and a recent finalist in the Charles A. Lynam Competition, he has been a featured soloist with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and a number of chamber ensembles internationally. A past apprentice at Glimmerglass Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Central City Opera, he recently appeared with the Pittsburgh Opera, Central City Opera and the Grammy-nominated period ensemble Ars Lyrica Houston. Future engagements include Ars Lyrica Houston, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Gaines made his Lincoln Center debut in 2010 with New York’s Teatro Grattacielo, and returned this past May for the company’s 2011 double-bill of one-act verismo operas by Umberto Giordano (Il re) and Primo Riccitelli (I compagnacci). He was named a Major Winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society in 2010.
Joseph's commercially-available recordings include Ars Lyrica Houston’s CD of Alessandro Scarlatti’s music, distributed by Naxos Records, and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue’s Messiah: The Mozart Orchestrations.
A native of Houston, Gaines currently resides in Pittsburgh.
