Praised by Opera for his “ringing high notes” and “clarity of tone,” Cameron Schutza recently made both a role and company debut as Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Baltimore Concert Opera. Mr. Schutza also made a company and role debut singing the challenging role of Chairman Mao in The Princeton Festival’s production of Adams’s Nixon in China, was described as having “endless power” and “the Heldentenor Adams imagined for Chairman Mao.” He sang excerpts from the title role of Siegfried for The Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Wagner Ring Showcase at Lincoln Center’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, and made his company debut as Pollione in Norma with Sarasota Opera and joined the New Jersey Festival Orchestra for a concert of arias and holiday favorites in the 2017-18 season. He is the third place winner of the 2017 Lauritz Melchior International Singing Competition in Denmark, having performed excerpts of Wagner’s heroic tenor leads with the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, as well as the 2016 recipient of the top award, the Robert Lauch Memorial Fund Endowment Award, from the Wagner Society of New York. Recent highlights for the tenor include the role of Narraboth in Salome with the Orquesta Sinfònica Nacional at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City with Carlos Prieto conducting, Manrico in Il trovatore with both Portland Summerfest and the Astoria Music Festival alongside soprano Angela Meade, Don José in Carmen with the Walla Walla Symphony, and previous performances of Pollione in Norma with Opera in the Heights.
In recent seasons, the tenor has joined the MetropolitanOpera roster for its productions of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Tannhäuser, and Salome and joined the Caramoor International Music Festival as the First Prisoner in Fidelio – while also responsible for the role of Florestan, Danieli in Les vêpres Siciliennes, Rustighello in Lucrezia Borgia, and for the cover of the title role of Don Carlos and the Duca in Rigoletto. His other credits include Jaquino in Fidelio with Michigan Opera Theatre and, on the concert stage, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony at Carnegie Hall, Verdi’s Requiem with Houston Masterworks, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. He joined Rockport Music and soprano Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs for a recital entitled Strauss: Celebrating 150 years.
The Texas native is an alumnus of the young artist programs of Santa Fe Opera, Arizona Opera, and Palm Beach Opera and a two-time winner of the Arizona District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.