Ned Canty has directed at dozens of companies, including Glimmerglass, Wolf Trap, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe, and New York City Opera. The New York Times has described his stage direction as having "a startling combination of sensitivity and panache."
He joined Opera Memphis as general director in 2011, expanding the season and launching a series of commissions centered on Memphis stories. The signature program under his leadership is “30 Days of Opera”, which has brought free performances to over 430,000 Memphians in more than 200 locations since then. 
He received the Alliance for Non-Profit Excellence “Innovation Award” in 2016 and was Inside Memphis Business “CEO of the Year” in 2017.
Before discovering opera, Canty worked as an actor, director, and stuntman at Hartford Stage Company, McCarter Theatre, and the New York Renaissance Festival, among others.
He lives in Midtown Memphis with his wife and three dogs.