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James Held

Sacristan/Jailer

James P. Held is a versatile performer “with a ringing voice, superb diction, and a genuine eloquence.” He is experienced in a variety of styles including musical theatre, new works, and traditional concert and operatic repertoire.

Mr. Held was most recently engaged as Marcello in La Bohème. He joined Opera Idaho as a Young Artist, covering Dulcamara in their Fall 2017 production of L’elisir d’amore and touring a condensed children’s version of the same show. In Spring of 2017, Mr. Held joined the Leipzig Symphony and Madison Symphony Chorus as the baritone soloist in Brahms’s Ein Deutsches Requiem. He also joined the Madison Choral Union as the baritone soloist for Paul Hindemith’s When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d. As a Studio Artist for Madison Opera’s 2016-17 season, Mr. Held sang Second Priest/Second Armored Man while covering Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and sang Paris while covering Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. His previous roles include King Henry VIII and Jesus the Beloved in Passion Trilogy with The Fisher Ensemble, Oliver Hix in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man and Il Sagrestano in Tosca with the Colorado Symphony, Sheriff Wells in Zach Redler’s A Song for Susan Smith, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, and The Father in Hänsel und Gretel. Mr. Held was an Emerging Artist with the prestigious Seagle Music Colony where he performed such roles as Sid in Albert Herring, Dick McGann in Street Scene, Flynt/Gremio in Kiss Me, Kate, and Leporello in Don Giovanni.

In Summer 2018 he will join Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist where he will cover the role of Frank in Die Fledermaus and sing in the choruses of Rusalka and The Tender Land. Fall of 2018 sees Mr. Held joining Toledo Opera, where he will sing in various productions throughout the 2018-19 season. He will sing Moralès in Bizet’s beloved Carmen with Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina in early 2019.

Mr. Held has extensive training as a recitalist and touring musician and, in addition to being a capable performer, has experience as an assistant director and production assistant.

Mr. Held holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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