Singer-actor Blas Canedo-Gonzalez captures the essence and idiosyncrasies of opera’s greatest baritone characters, ranging from the stoic to the playful, the romantic to the mystic. Blas’s exotic timbre and fearless approach engages audiences with passion and magnetism.
Performing with the Houston Symphony at the Miller Outdoor Theatre
According to Colombian national television program Vivamos la Ópera, he is considered "one of the most promising young talents of his generation,” and the North American press has described him as "a performer of extraordinary grace," "the most persuasive singing actor, who projects a strong, secure and brilliant instrument," and "capable of a memorable connection with the public."
Critic Mike Greenberg described his performance of El Duende as “so deeply musical, so flat-out beautiful, that after a while I found myself wallowing in the sheer sensuality of that sound and not bothering to look at the projected English translations.”
Blas has performed more than 30 major baritone roles in the United States, South America and Europe. Some of his roles include Vidal in Luisa Fernanda, Dr. Rappaccini in Rappaccini’s Daughter, Everybody in Lucinda y las Flores de Noche Buena, El Duende in Maria de Buenos Aires, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Il Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Il Conte de Luna in il Trovatore, Escamillo in Carmen, Beaupertuis in Il Cappello di Paglia di Firenze, Belcore in L'Elisir D’Amore, Germont in la Traviata, Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte, Marcello in La Bohème, Silvio in Pagliacci, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Angel in Hagar and Ishmael, Albert in Werther, Dr. Miracle in Tales of Hoffman, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Signor Deluso, and Vronsky in Anna Karenina.
Blas has performed with the Fort Worth Opera, Alamo City Opera, Opera in the Heights, Opera in the Ozarks, Crescendo Institute, Moores Opera Center, Verismo Opera, UNT Opera, Metroplex Dallas Opera, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Ópera de Colombia, Teatro Colón de Bogotá, Teatro Roberto Arias Pérez, Teatro Metropolitano de Medellín, Prolírica de Antioquia, Ópera de Manizales, Festival Ópera al Parque, and Fundación Carmiña Gallo.
Blas won the Pavel Lisitsian award for the best baritone voice at the 10th annual the Lois Alba competition in Houston. Blas appeared as Belcore in the Crescendo Institute’s L'Elisir d'Amore, which was broadcast by Hungarian public television and sold in DVD.
He has performed as a baritone soloist with the Houston Symphony, Victoria Symphony, Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Sinfónica de Manizales, Corpas Symphony, Sinfónica Juvenil de Medellín, Filarmónica de Medellín, Sala de Conciertos Luis Ángel Arango, Dallas Fine Art Chambers Players, Soma International, and the Festival International de Música en Medellín.
Blas currently lives in Houston.