Biography
Leo Balkovetz, Tenor, is a performer and librettist in the Boston area. Born the middle child in a military family, Leo spent his early life moving all around the country. He received a Bachelor's in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University in 2015. He spent the year as an assistant in a Middle School choir, teaching private voice lessons to the young and young at heart alike before moving to Boston in 2016. There, he attended The Longy School of Music at Bard College and graduated with a Master's in Historical Performance in 2018. He has called Boston home ever since.
Leo's musical practice spans from singing Renaissance sacred motets all the way to modern opera. He has performed in the world premieres of Reap What You Soul (Guy) and The Bedbug (The Reporter) with Promenade Opera Project, the world premiere of NIGHTTOWN (Buck Mulligan) with Lowell House Opera, and a touring production of Mr. Twister (Bobby), an opera for children. As an oratorio soloist, Leo has performed across the commonwealth in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Coronation Mass, and Beethoven’s Mass in C.
As a writer, Leo penned the libretto for Quinn Gutman’s Violetta, a queer re-telling of Verdi’s La traviata, and a modern treatment of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito for Opera del West’s 2023 season. When not singing and writing, Leo can often be found listening to Steely Dan or watching bees in his flower garden.
