Joel Clemens

Baritone Joel Clemens is quickly becoming known across the East Coast for his exemplary musicianship and dynamic characterization across a broad range of challenging repertoire. Clemens recently completed a residency with Chautauqua Institution, where he served as a teaching artist and gave touring performances of zarzuela-inspired children’s opera. He returns to Boston for the 2023-2024 season to be featured in West End Lyric’s inaugural “Joys of Music” concert and Boston Opera Collaborative’s “Whispers: Echoes from the Halls,” an immersive opera experience. A frequent performer with Boston Lyric Opera, he will appear in the chorus of The Anonymous Lover. He will also rejoin the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras Opera Chorus in Norma. In April, Clemens will be joining Boston Conservatory at Berklee as a guest artist to sing Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other notable operatic roles include Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Sid (Albert Herring), Publio (La clemenza di Tito), Valentin (Faust), and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte). Equally comfortable in 21st-century repertoire, Clemens will reprise the role of Manfred in Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch with West End Lyric this spring. He recently premiered three roles in White Snake Projects’ second annual “Let’s Celebrate” series, which draws on diverse cultural traditions with shows that reflect their diverse community of artists. Clemens also created the role of Charles Ives in Robert Carl’s Harmony with libretto by acclaimed American writer Russel Banks, produced by Seagle Festival. Other notable contemporary roles include Hannah Younger (As One), Hawkins Fuller (Fellow Travelers), and Joseph De Rocher (Dead Man Walking). Joel Clemens is a proud alumnus of Seagle Festival’s Emerging Artist Program, which he attended for two summers. He is a recent graduate of Boston Conservatory’s prestigious Master of Music in Opera Performance program, where he was the recipient of the Miles A. Fish III Scholarship. He holds a bachelor of music from James Madison University, where he was awarded the Showalter Scholar Award.