Bios & Headshots

Amy Shoremount-Obra

Soprano

American Soprano Amy Shoremount-Obra made her Metropolitan Opera Debut in 2014 as First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte–a role she has performed at the Met sixteen times including on the Met’s 2017 recording freaturing Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Kathryn Lewek, Charles Castronovo and Nathan Gunn with Maestro Evan Rogister. Recent roles include the title roles in Puccini’s Turandot and Strauss’s Salome, as well as Massenet’s Thaïs with Opera Idaho. Amy has sung role, recitals, and concerts with companies in the US, Mexico, the UK, and Europe including Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, the LA Philharmonic, South Florida Symphony, The Plainfield Symphony, Knoxville Opera, Odyssey Opera (Boston), Southern Illinois Music Festival, Hawaii International Music Festival, NYC Opera, Annapolis Opera, Maryland Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Spoleto Festival- Italy, Pacific Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Varna International (Rome, Italy), Opera Orchestra of NY, National Chorale, Savannah Voice Festival, Savannah Philharmonic, The Juilliard Orchestra, Adelphi Orchestra, NY Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, and the Orquesta Filarmònica del estado de Chihuahua (MX). She has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall five times and was the Top Prize Winner of the 2018 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition Wagner Division. She is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School.

Daniel Scofield

Baritone

American dramatic baritone Daniel Scofield has twice been a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition and is a recipient of the Olga Forrai Foundation Award. He performs regularly in major roles across the United States and Europe. In the 2022/23 season, he sang La Bohème with the Glyndebourne Festival, Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers in Berlin with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester under Robin Ticciati, and went on to perform at Lyric Opera of Chicago (Don Carlos) and the Prague State Opera (Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci). In 2023/24, he returned to Prague for Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana (Tonio/Alfio), and made his debuts at Fort Worth Opera (La Bohème, Marcello) and with the Houston Symphony (Salome). The 2024/25 season marked, among other highlights, his role debut as the Dutchman in Der fliegende Holländer in Prague, as well as a new production of Pagliacci at the Staatstheater Hannover. In 2025/26, he opens the season in Saint Louis as Jochanaan in Salome, returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci, and takes part in a concert performance in Bayreuth featuring excerpts from Siegfried, Tannhäuser, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He also makes his role debut as Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande at Opera Baltimore, and his house and role debut as Wotan (Die Walküre) at Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

Cody Laun

Tenor

Tenor and educator, Cody Laun is a Colorado native who has sung with companies such as the Colorado Bach Ensemble, St. Martin’s Chamber Choir, Opera Colorado, Des Moines Metro Opera, Crested Butte Music Festival, Central City Opera, Boulder Opera, Loveland Opera, Carbondale Arts, Opera Mississippi, Mobile Opera, The Denver Philharmonic, and The Muses Creative Artistry Project. This season, he’s debuting multiple roles and works including Nicias in Massenet’s Thaïs with Opera Idaho, King Kaspar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with Collegium Musicum Moscow (Idaho), Alfred in J. Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with Inland Northwest Opera, Finzi’s Dies Natalis, and a newly composed set of mini-operas in conjunction with the faculty of the University of Wyoming. He was a district winner and regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and The Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Competition. Dr. Laun currently serves on the voice faculty at the University of Denver and Colorado Christian University. His obsessions include his amazing wife, two beautiful children, hiking, gluten free baking, and exploring his Colorado home, with all the culture and scenery it has to offer.

Darrell J. Jordan

Baritone

Seattle-based lyric baritone Darrell J. Jordan has been praised for his “shining, beautiful voice” (Broadway World), his “expressive baritone and facial expressions” (The SunBreak), and has been called “the star of the show” (Columbia Heart Beat). In demand as a recitalist and concert soloist, his recent solo concert engagements have been with Amherst Early Music Festival, Odyssey Chamber Music Series, Rolla Choral Arts Society, Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, Missouri Symphony, Southside Philharmonic Orchestra, Toledo Symphony, Thalia Symphony, Olympia Chamber Orchestra, Salt Water Music Series, Seattle Art Song Society, Harmonia Orchestra, and Seattle Choral Company. Dr. Jordan has performed over 40 supporting and principal roles, some favorites being: Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Ignacio (Lucrezia), Count Gil (Il segreto di Susanna), Bunthorne (Patience), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), and Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale). Opera credits include Opera West, Tacoma Opera, Wilmington Concert Opera, Music On Site, Inc., St. Louis Opera Collective, Haymarket Opera Company, Gateway Opera, the Institute for 17th Century Music, the Show-Me Opera, Lawrence Opera Theatre, the Puget Sound Concert Opera, Northwest Opera In Schools Touring Company, Seattle Modern Opera Company, Pacific Northwest Opera, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Seattle, Opera on Tap, Low Brow Opera, OperaBend, Engage Opera, Landlocked Opera, Barn Opera, Vermont Opera, and Seattle Opera. He is a member and co-founder of Vox Nova. He is thrilled to be making his Opera Idaho debut! For more information, please visit: www.DarrellJJordan.com

Michele Detwiler

Mezzo-Soprano

Mezzo-soprano Michele Detwiler has sung over thirty 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 Idaho, she has performed over a dozen roles with Opera Idaho, most recently as La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and Zita in Gianni Schicchi. Last season, she reprised Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Gemma Arts, returned to the Narnia Festival in Italy leading the Emerging Artist Program, as well as sang the roles Flora/Annina (La traviata) with MidAtlantic Opera. Additionally, she reprised her role of Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) in her Opera Mississippi debut. She recently made her Opera Modesto debut as Anne Bale in Sherlock Holmes & the Case of the Fallen Giant, returned to Opera Idaho as Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, and led the Emerging Artist Program of the New Voice Festival. Upcoming performances include her role debuts of Principessa and Zita in Opera Idaho’s Suor Angelica & Gianni Schicchi and Dame Quickly in Opera Modesto’s Falstaff.

Currently, she resides in Boise, Idaho with her husband, baritone Jason Detwiler. Managed by Randsman Artists’ Management, Michele studies with Andrea DelGiudice in New York City.

BrieAnne Welch

Charmeuse

BrieAnne Welch Prestwich currently serves as a resident artist with Opera Idaho. She is excited to sing La Charmeuse with OI this season. Other OI appearances include Le Cercatrici in Suor Angelica, Operatini’s, Opera in the Mountains, and more. BrieAnne is also Co-Owner of Gemma Arts, which creates singing opportunities and training opportunities for artists here in the Treasure Valley. Mrs. Welch Prestwich has performed Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus and the Tuscia Opera Festival in Viterbo, Italy. She has also performed as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Camellia Symphony, Canyon County Symphony and Gemma Arts. In 2008, she performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater as well as First Lady and Papagena in a televised production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Tuscia Opera Festival in Rome. Other roles include Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Adele and Ida (Die Fledermaus), Drusilla (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Anne Page (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Fiordiligi and Dorabella (Così fan tutte), and Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro). Additionally, BrieAnne sang the role of Juno, in the world premiere of &Aeterna at the Narnia Festival in Narnia, Italy. Two years later, she reprised the role in Boise at the The New Voice Festival for the American premiere of the new work. BrieAnne actively sings throughout the Treasure Valley, while maintaining a vocal studio, supporting local artists with singing opportunities through Gemma Arts, and raising her four very active boys.

Jordan Bowman

Soprano

Jordan Bowman is an American soprano, currently based in Idaho, known for her opulent vocal color, robust chest voice, and heart-wrenching dramaticism onstage. She won the Idaho/Montana District in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Utah district in 2021 for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Prize of the 2019 NYC SongSlam Competition, the 2019 Philip Friedheim Memorial Award, and was a finalist in the 2015 Idaho Falls Symphony Young Artist Competition.

Jordan made three role debuts in the spring of 2023, two of which were premieres. In concert, she performed the role of Dadga, the evil wind goddess, in Brian Hosefros’ new operetta, Peter Prickles, in Boise, as well as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Randsman Artists’ Management in New York City. After, she had the pleasure of revisiting and live premiering the role of Maya in Lisa Neher and Kendra Preston Leonard’s new opera, Sense of Self, at the New Music Gathering in Portland. This opera was presented first as a film during the pandemic with Opera Elect.

In 2022, Jordan made four role debuts. First, as the cunning Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze dì Figaro in concert with Gemma Arts in their exciting inaugural production. She then traveled to the Teatro Communale di Giuseppe Manini di Narni in Italy to perform Dido in Andrea DelGiudice’s spectacularly reimagined Dido & Aeneas, which was concurrently produced with critically-acclaimed composer Jake Landau’s new epilogue opera, & Aeterna, where Jordan portrayed a continuation of the deceased Queen of Carthage. In the fall, she originated the vocally-demanding role of the Angel of Death in Nathan Scalise’s biting new dark comedy opera, A Great Resignation, at the Hartford Fringe Festival.

Previously, Jordan has performed with the Narnia Festival Orchestra, Tri-Cities Opera, Opera Idaho, Binghamton Baroque Orchestra, the Binghamton University Wind Symphony, the Treasure Valley Interfaith Chorus and Orchestra, the College of Idaho Sinfonia, and the Boise Contemporary Theater. Her concert credits include soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Messiah, Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise,” Vivaldi’s Gloria and Magnificat, Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieres No. 5, Biebl’s “Ave Maria,” Previn’s “Vocalise,” Tavener’s “Song of the Angel,” and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël.

Christina Mancheni

Soprano

Christina Mancheni, Soprano, is a dynamic performer celebrated for her compelling stage presence and artistic versatility. She has appeared with Opera Las Vegas, Sin City Opera, Opera Idaho, Utah Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Ocean City Pops, the Chamber Music Society of North Jersey, and Concert Operetta Theater, and has been a featured artist at the St. Bart’s Music Festival under Maestro Steven Mercurio.

Her operatic repertoire includes roles such as Josephine (Josephine), Ma Zegner (Proving Up), Madame Hertz (Der Schauspieldirector), the title role in Alcina, Sister Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), the Fairy Godmother (Cendrillon), Despina (Così fan tutte), Papagena (The Magic Flute), and the premiere role of Anne in Body of Art. Operetta credits include, Mascha (The Czarevitch), Fanchette (The Sea Cadet), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Salomea (Frederica), Nichette (Madeleine), and Mariana (Luisa Fernanda). Her concert work includes featured performances in Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem, and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

Equally committed to education, Christina presents master classes, recitals, and lectures both nationally and internationally. She is co-author of 50 More Ways to Abuse Your Voice: Another Singer’s Guide to a Short Career (2024), created in collaboration with Dr. Robert T. Sataloff and Mary J. Hawkshaw.

Christina serves on the voice faculty of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, is Music Director for the Patty Duke Awards in Idaho, and is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Boise State University.

Benjamin Boskoff

Tenor

Celebrated for his versatility and dynamic performances, Georgia native Benjamin Boskoff is an accomplished tenor specializing in Bel Canto repertoire, the music of Benjamin Britten, and chamber music. Mr. Boskoff has captivated audiences with his performances in productions, recitals, and chamber concerts. Recent engagements include stepping in at the eleventh hour to sing Count Almaviva in OperaBend’s production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. Notable roles in Mr. Boskoff’s career include Peter Quint in Turn of the Screw with Red River Lyric Opera, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Lawrence Opera Theatre, Count Almaviva in with Penn Square Music Festival, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Prince Ramiro in La Cenerentola with Opera MODO, and Count Ory in Le Comte Ory as a guest artist at Lawrence University. Mr. Boskoff was a resident artist with Opera North and joined their cast of All is Calm. Other engagements include Dove’s Pinocchio and Puccini’s Il Trittico with Boulder Opera, Don Pasquale with Opera Fort Collins, the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John’s Passion in San Antonio. A graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder (DMA), the University of Michigan School of Music (MM). He has studied under esteemed mentors such as Dr. Gregory Broughton, and Barbara Clark (Paver), Dr. John Seesholtz and has worked closely with renowned artists and educators including Martin Katz, Dr. Timothy Cheek, Kathleen Kelly, Kathryn Wright, Copeland Woodruff, Dr. Stephen Austin, Martha Sheil, Kenneth Bozeman, and Steven McGee. Currently a student of George Smith in the Twin Cities area.

Stacey Trenteseaux

General Director

As a soprano and artistic leader, Stacey is passionate about fostering innovation and creativity in the arts and across industries. She is the General Director of Opera Idaho with previous positions as the Executive Director of Opera Mississippi, Artistic Director of the International Performing Arts Institute, and a creative consultant and grant writer for multiple arts organizations and individual artists. Stacey has performed leading roles in the United States and Germany including Rosalinde (J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus), Luisa (Verdi’s Luisa Miller) Juliette (Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette), Micaëla (Bizet’s Carmen), Fiordiligi (Mozart’s Così fan tutte), Hanna (Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe), Angelica (Puccini’s Suor Angelica), and First Lady (Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte) among others. She regularly speaks as an advocate of opera and creativity presenting vocal, artistic entrepreneurship, and business master classes and workshops to young artists and business professionals.

Julia Mintzer

Stage Director

An alum of the Royal Opera House’s Mentorship Programme, Julia Mintzer has been nominated for two Off West End Awards for Best Opera Production. A 2017 National Opera Association Directing Fellow, her interactive theater piece Pizza Parlance was listed in Nombre Art Magazine’s “5 Must-Sees of Venice Biennale” and revived for NWR-Forum Düsseldorf and Toronto Museum of Contemporary Art.

She directed Nathan Gunn in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Opera Grand Rapids and made her German debut with Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher at Landesbühnen Sachsen. She returns to Germany for a musical to open 26/27, and directs Gianni Schicchi for New England Conservatory, and The Trout who Found the River for Charlotte Shout.

Julia was sponsored by the European Network of Opera Academies to direct excerpts from Il barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Academy of Verona, and invited back by ENOA to direct and develop new work at the Helsinki Festival. Her participation in Dutch National Opera’s Towards a New Dramaturgy workshop was sponsored by Britten Pears Arts, and she directed a festival of American opera at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp. She revived East West Street for Nova Touring at the Alliance Francaise in Washington DC, starring Katja Riemann.

In her parallel career as a soprano, Julia has performed principal roles with Theater an der Wien, the Dresden Semperoper, Welsh National Opera Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, National Sawdust and Theater Sankt Gallen. Performances include Salome, Tosca, Santuzza, and many world premieres.

Andy Anderson

Music Director

Andy Anderson has emerged as a prominent conductor in the world of opera and musical theater, highly praised for his “solid musical support from the podium” (The Sondheim Review) and his “fluidity, control, musicality, and palpable sympathy with the singers” (Kansas City Star). Based in New York, Anderson’s expertise in a vast repertoire ranging from Sondheim to Wagner has garnered critical acclaim. Anderson “wields his baton like a magic wand” (The Tennessean), bringing a “subtlety and care that allows beautiful melodies to flow in a totally idiomatic fashion without overpowering the singers”, as noted by Opera News.

Andy’s exceptional talent and experience have recently earned him the appointment as the Principal Conductor for Opera Idaho. Anderson is set to conduct Opera in the Park for Opera Idaho in July 2023 and Gounod’s ROMÉO ET JULIETTE for the same company in February 2024. As a guest conductor, Anderson is highly sought after and has made significant contributions to the artistic output of many companies, including Rimrock Opera, Amarillo Opera, Opera Idaho, Raylynmor Opera, Charlottesville Opera, and Anchorage Opera. Anderson conducted his highly anticipated international debut in 2017, conducting DON GIOVANNI with the Stara Zagora State Opera in Bulgaria.

Andy’s “youthful vitality” (Kansas City Star) has brought him into many senior leadership roles, including Artistic and Music Director of Mobile Opera and Assistant Conductor of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. As Artistic Director of the Civic Opera Theatre of Kansas City, Anderson conducted a diverse range of productions, including OUR TOWN, EVERLASTING UNIVERSE, THE MEDIUM, THE MIKADO, STREET SCENE, EDGAR, PASSION, FALSTAFF, and LE NOZZE DI FIGARO.

In Andy, “there is no shortage of talent on display” (Kansas City Star). He has an affinity for “skillfully eliciting a lush sound from his pit orchestra and shaping the songs with the actors, rather than merely accompanying them”, as observed by The Sondheim Review. Anderson’s recent company debut with Opera Ithaca in 2022 with LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and his conducting of Marble City Opera’s production of Floyd’s SUSANNAH have only reinforced his standing as a passionate and talented conductor.

In addition, Andy conducted the 150th Birthday celebration for Holland America Cruise Lines in September 2022, and recently conducted a workshop for a new musical DEAR EDVARD.

Upcoming performance highlights include Puccini’s SUOR ANGELICA/GIANNI SCHICCHI and Verdi’s LA TRAVIATA with Opera Idaho, and Leoncavallo’s PAGLIACCI with Marble City Opera.