Jay Ivey has been seen in such operatic
roles as Rigoletto, Lescaut (Manon),
the title roles of Don Giovanni and Gianni
Schicchi, Morales (Carmen), and Maximillian
in Candide with Jerry Hadley.
Most recently he performed the role of British Ambassador in the
world premiere of the new performing edition of The
Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano with the Opera Theatre of
St. Louis. Other roles performed with Opera Theatre of St. Louis include
Spalanzani (Tales of Hoffmann), The Imperial
Commissioner (Madama Butterfly),and Priest (Troilus
and Cressida). In December of 2008 he was named Artist in Residence at
the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and was thrilled to perform the role of
Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) with
their Opera on the Go program. Jay has also performed a number of
oratorio and chamber works including the Brahms Requiem, Händel’s Messiah,
Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, and
Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. He has been a district
winner for the Metropolitan National Council auditions, a NATS winner at the
state and regional levels, and a finalist in the Mobile Opera
competition. James is a recipient of the Nancy Wustman Memorial
accompanying award and the Joseph Schlanger memorial opera award from the
University of Illinois. He recently performed Barber’s Dover Beach with the St. Louis Symphony
string quartet at the Sheldon Arts Center commemorating Samuel Barber’s
Centennial. On the other side of the stage, he is an active music director and
accompanist, most recently serving as music director for the Indiana University
Department of Theatre and Drama’s productions of Hair and Cabaret. He has also taught at Eastern Illinois
University where he was the Director of Music Theatre and Opera. He is a member of the National
Association of Teachers of Singing, and is former president of the IU SNATS
chapter.
DM: Jacobs School
of Music at Indiana University (Voice)—December 2012
MM: The University
of Illinois (Voice)
BME: Shorter
College (Piano)