Cantus Youth Choirs is proud to present baritone and mezzo soprano couple, Jason and Michele Detwiler as featured guest soloists at the Winter Concert on December 17, 2016.
Jason Detwiler. With over fifty roles to his credit, baritone Jason Detwiler has become well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. His voice and acting have been described as “emotionally fervid”, “richly expressive”and “commanding”, as he possesses a diverse repertoire ranging from the comedic Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) to the dramatic Germont (La traviata) and Escamillo (Carmen). Among his most widely acclaimed roles are the title roles of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Eugene Onegin, as well as Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Zurga (Les pêcheurs de perles), and John Proctor (The Crucible). His concert credits include: Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass, Ahab in Bernard Herrmann’s Moby Dick, Jim Cockey’s Shalom: a Holocaust Memorial (world premiere), and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.
Last season, Mr. Detwiler reprised Melchior and Germont, marking over 20 productions with his hometown Opera Idaho. In the 2016-17 season, Mr. Detwiler is singing his first Emile in South Pacific, Albert in Werther, a reproduction of The Winterreise Project: Redux, as well as reprising his role of Falke in Die Fledermaus, all with Opera Idaho.
The baritone has performed nationally with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Opéra Théâtre d’Avignon, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Parallèle, Center for Contemporary Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sacramento Opera, Cinnabar Opera Theater, Spokane Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Shreveport Opera, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Opera Coeur d’Alene, Rimrock Opera, Sonoma City Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Master Chorale, the Masterworks Chorale of San Mateo and the Auburn Symphony. From 2002-2006, he was part of Opera San Jose as a Principal Resident Artist singing 18 lead roles. In 2009-2010, Mr. Detwiler became Opera Idaho’s first Artist-in-Residence, singing lead roles, giving concerts, and leading master classes for the Resident Company.
Michele Detwiler. Since 2000, Ms. Detwiler has sung nearly two dozen roles with regional companies on the West Coast, favoring Mahler, Strauss, Bel Canto and French repertoire. Critics have described her instrument as “amber-voiced”, “a velvety mezzo-soprano voice with excellent range”, with performances being cited as “riveting” and holding “center stage commandingly”.
Since moving to Boise Idaho in 2007 she has performed nearly a dozen roles with Opera Idaho. Roles include Siebel (Faust), Tisbe (La cenerentola), Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Augusta (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Mother (Hansel & Gretel), Dina (Trouble in Tahiti), Anna (The King and I), Maddalena (Rigoletto), and most recently Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte). This season marks a reprise of her role as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and a debut with the Idaho State Civic Symphony as a soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah oratorio.
From 2001-2007, she was a Principal Artist and Guest Artist with Opera San Jose where she sang in eighteen productions ranging from lyric to dramatic repertoire. While there, she garnered much praise for her portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible), and took on the roles of Carmen, Suzuki, Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the title role of La cenerentola, Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Stephano (Romeo et Juliette), Siebel, Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), and Flora (La Traviata) among others. In addition, the mezzo has sung with Sacramento Opera, Opera Idaho, Livermoor Valley Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, Stockton Opera, Mission City Opera, the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Master Chorale, Florida Symphony Orchestra, Auburn Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Her concert credits include soloist in Bernstein’s Candide Suite, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Second Symphony, Herzogenberg’s Die Geburt Christi, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.