James DEMLER

Bass-baritone James Demler is praised for his “versatile and tender” portrayals and “dark, imposing tones” across opera, oratorio, and concert repertoire (The New Criterion, Boston Musical Intelligencer). He recently appeared with Boston Lyric Opera as Alidoro in La Cenerentola, earning acclaim for his “vocal gravitas . . . he gained audiences precisely through a charming clumsiness similar to Merlin in The Sword in the Stone” (Operawire). Other recent performances include Morris in Kouyoumdjian/Vavrek’s Adoration with LA Opera and Beth Morrison Projects, Monterone in Rigoletto with Pacific Opera Victoria, Vodník in Rusalka with Opera Orlando, Father in Prestini/Vavrek’s Silent Light with National Sawdust, and Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro with Amarillo Opera. Next season, Demler returns to the Metropolitan Opera to cover the Notary in Der Rosenkavalier, sings the role of Melcthal in William Tell with Boston Lyric Opera, and joins Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro.

Mr. Demler has covered roles with the Metropolitan Opera in La bohème and Der Rosenkavalier, and has appeared with companies such as the Berkshire Opera Festival, Odyssey Opera, and Opera Company of Middlebury. Notable roles include Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Gualtiero in Maria, Regina d’Inghilterra, Macbeth in Macbeth, Dikoy in Katya Kabanova, and Le Bailli in Werther. He has also been featured with Houston Grand Opera, Edmonton Opera, Anchorage Opera, and the Houston Symphony, among others.

In contemporary works, Mr. Demler made his company and role debut as a “menacing” and “most unheroic” Odysseus in Mary Prescott/Cerise Lim Jacobs’ A Survivor’s Odyssey: The Journey of Penelope and Circe with White Snake Projects (Seen and Heard International). He also covered Howie Albert in Champion with Boston Lyric Opera, sang Caterpillar and King in the world premiere of ALICE, An Operatic Wonderland and portrayed Earl of Arundel in the world premiere of Arnold Rosner’s The Chronicle of Nine, a co-production with the Grammy Award-winning BMOP Orchestra of Boston. He has premiered several works of Daron Hagen including Shining Brow, Bandanna, and The Antient Concert; created the role of Sgt. John Regan in Eric Sawyer’s The Scarlet Professor for the Five College Festival; and premiered Sawyer’s new musical, My Evil Twin, at the Ko Theatre Festival with his identical twin, John.

On the concert stage, Demler has performed as the bass soloist in in Verdi’s Requiem with the Concertgebouw in Bruges and the Liederhalle in Stuttgart. He’s been featured as a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, Carolina Philharmonic, Boston Pops, Muir String Quartet, Boston University Symphony Orchestra, Anchorage Symphony, NYC Chamber Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the Back Bay Chorale, Hartford Symphony, St. Petersburg Cathedral, and the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra.

James is featured in Odyssey Opera’s 2019 recording of The Importance of Being Ernest, Las Vegas Wind Orchestra’s 2000 recording of Bandanna with Albany Records, Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra’s 2009 Naxos recording of Shining Brow, the Boston Secession’s 2005 Brave Records recording of Totentanz, and Camerata New York’s 1995 Newport Classics recording of The Consul. He has also been featured in Boston Pops and Tanglewood Festival Chorus’s 2012 Live Radio Broadcast of Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, played on WGBH. Mr. Demler is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Boston University.