Cantus Youth Choirs is proud to announce that Ms. Sharon Jane Davis, soprano, will be our featured guest artist at GLOW, the 9th Annual Winter Concert on December 15, 2018.
The award-winning soprano and performer, Sharon Jane Davis, has made the opera, theater and concert stage her home since her early teens. A native of Logan, Utah, Sharon began her vocal studies in high school under the direction of Ted Puffer at Utah State University. She performed her first operatic role, Amahl in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors at the age of fourteen, followed by Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto. She became a Sterling Scholar in drama for the State of Utah and took her first Equity contract with the Valley Music Hall in Salt Lake City.
Ms. Davis continued her studies under Ted Puffer at the University of Nevada, Reno. While attending school she performed professionally with the Nevada Opera Company as Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Polly Peachum in Weill’s The Threepenny Opera, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Despina in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Yum-Yum in G&S’s The Mikado, Angelique in Ibert’s Angelique, Clorinda in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and Little Mary in Little Mary Sunshine.
While in Nevada, Ms. Davis claimed the title of Miss University of Nevada going on to win the title of Miss Nevada and competing in the Miss America pageant.
Sharon participated in the the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program and became the winner of the prestigious Karl Kritz Memorial Award launching her into the next phase of her work with the San Francisco Opera Company. She became a member of its Western Opera Theater touring company for the next four years. One of the highlights of this time for Sharon was doing the role of Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel under the baton of the late Calvin Simmons. Another highlight was having the pleasure of twice performing with Arthur Fiedler and the San Francisco Symphony in its summer pops concert series.
As well as her work with San Francisco Opera, she has done major roles with many regional opera companies such as Utah Festival Opera, West Bay Opera, Nevada Opera, Berkeley Opera, Oakland Opera and Fresno Opera. These roles include: Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore and Hanna Glawari in Lehar’s The Merry Widow.
Ms. Davis’s symphonic and recital performances include: Verdi’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Dvorak’s Te Deum, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne, Strauss’ Four Last Songs, and Ernst Krenek’s Durch die Nacht and Reisebuch aus den osterreichischen Alpen.
As well as being a performer, she maintains a full private voice studio, has directed youth performance groups, her own summer opera program for young singers and also is an accompanist for her students.