Tenor JOSHUA ZABATTA never imagined that singing while driving a tractor on a Montana farm where he grew up would eventually lead to a promising music career.  Although initially studying for a career in broadcasting, Mr. Zabatta was lured further into the world of opera when he was invited to participate in the Johanna Meier Opera Theatre Institute.

Since emerging onto the professional scene, Mr. Zabatta has been praised for being a dynamic storyteller, an engaging performer, and his full, warm voice described by audiences as "audible chocolate."  He quickly received acclaim as a “terrific soloist” by Sarah Bryan Miller of the St. Louis Post Dispatch after singing engagements with the Bach Society of St. Louis, with whom he was an apprentice for three seasons.  In addition to his multiple appearances with the Bach Society and Union Avenue Opera, Mr. Zabatta served as a soloist in Alban Berg’s Wozzeck with the St. Louis Symphony under the baton of David Robertson.

After relocating to Colorado, some of this versatile tenor's concert performances in the region include Mass in G by Weber, Oratorio de Noël by Saint-Saëns, Dvořák's Mass in D, and Beethoven's Mass in C.  Mr. Zabatta made his debut with Opera Colorado singing Harry in La Fanciulla del West. Then, through engagements with Boulder Opera, he further expanded his repertoire, performing: Don José in Carmen, Fernando in Goyescas, and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.
 

More recently, Mr. Zabatta was seen performing the roles of Harlekin and Ein Soldat in Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the People's Theatre of Denver.  This season Mr. Zabatta is pleased to work with opera companies and orchestras as they begin to reopen, singing Count Barigoule in Viardot’s Cendrillon with Loveland Opera, the roles of Eduardo Jr. and Mr. Xoloti in Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World as part of a television production for Opera Steamboat and in live performances with Central City Opera.
 

An avid music education advocate, Mr. Zabatta teaches and mentors dozens of students in Denver and around the country.  Through piano tuning and repair work, he also helps ensure that families and teachers, especially in rural areas, can access working pianos.  He currently serves as a touring and teaching artist with Central City Opera and faculty for the Rushmore Music Festival.  You can follow Mr. Zabatta's career through joshuazabatta.com as well as Facebook and Instagram.

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