Bass, WALTER DuMELLE (he/him), has been engaging audiences both here and abroad for over thirty-five years with his wide range of vocal styles and genres with such opera companies and festivals as Skylight, DiCapo, Des Moines Metro, Central City, Chautauqua, Natchez, Intermountain, Bronx, Connecticut Grand, Utah Festival, Ash Lawn, National Opera, and the Opera Theaters of Chicago, Rochester and Connecticut. 

 

Equally at home on the operetta and musical theater stage, his Gilbert & Sullivan canon includes Mikado in Mikado (NY G&S Players; National Savoyards; BTC), Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore (Natchez Opera Festival; BTC), Sergeant of the Police in Pirates of Penzance (Lyric Opera SD; BTC) and the Usher in Trial by Jury (San Diego Comic Opera; BTC). Music theatre credits include Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well... (Chautauqua Opera), Benjamin Stone in Follies (Coronado Playhouse), Boatman/Redman in Sunday in the Park with George (ion theatre, SD), Man 2 in Closer than Ever (Eastman Theatre) and was lauded as the “comic highlight” with his portrayal of the First Gangster in Porter’s Kiss Me Kate (Ashlawn Opera Festival).

Currently hailing from San Diego, local engagements include performances with San Diego Opera (Baron in La traviata, Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi, Lillas Pastia in Carmen, Merchant in The Conquistador, All Is Calm, María de Buenos Aires), Lyric Opera SD (Sulpice-Daughter of the Regiment, Dr. Bartolo & Basilio-The Barber of Seville, Prince Joachim-The Waltz King, King-Rumpelstiltskin) , and Opera de Tijuana (Timur-Turandot, Bonze-Madama Butterfly, Sacristano-Tosca, Frère Laurent-Roméo et Juliette).

 

In 2012 he co-founded with his wife Diana DuMelle Bodhi Tree Concerts, with whom he has performed numerous roles and concerts. In 2017 he performed the title role in BTC’s production of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ 8 Songs for a Mad King, winning “Best in Fest” and “Best Actor in a Musical/Opera” at the San Diego International Fringe Festival.

 

He recently made his New York City Opera debut as the Doctor in La traviata, followed by a reprise of All Is Calm.

 

Upcoming engagements include the role of the Colonel in The Falling and the Rising and the Mother and Jimmy in 7 Deadly Sins / Mahagonny Songspiel with Bodhi Tree Concerts. He received his Master’s in Music from the Eastman School of Music.