Jason Detwiler [Mercutio] returns to Opera Idaho for his 37th production. With over sixty roles to his credit, the baritone has become well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. His voice and acting have been described as “emotionally fervid”, “richly expressive”, and “commanding”, garnering acclaim as Eugene Onegin, Conte di Luna (Il trovatore), Zurga (Les pêcheurs de perles), and John Proctor (The Crucible), among others.

Last season saw his role debut as Aeneas in a world premiere of Jake Landaus’ Aeterna with Teatro Comunale Manini in Italy through the Narnia Vocal Arts Festival. Additionally, the baritone reprised Conte di Luna (Opera in the Field), La bohème's Marcello (Light Opera of New Jersey), Manon’s Lescaut (Taconic Opera), Le nozze di Figaro's Conte with Gemma Arts, and Germont (La traviata) with South Orange Performing Arts.

He continued that season in new roles: Edgar/The Kinsman in Opera Modesto’s double bill of Tell Tale Heart/Annabel, and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) with Opera Mississippi. During the summer, Jason made his Carnegie Hall debut with MidAmerica Productions as soloist in Vivaldi’s Magnificat and New York City Opera debut in Florence, Italy as Papa in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. He then returned to the Narnia Vocal Arts Festival as Peter in Hansel and Gretel.

Jason has performed nationally with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Parallèle, Center for Contemporary Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Shreveport Opera, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, West Bay Opera, Inland Northwest Opera, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic & Master Chorale, Boise Baroque, and in France with the Opéra Théâtre d'Avignon. His concert credits include: Bach's Cantatas 87/140, St John’s Passion, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart's and Faure's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Dvořák's Te Deum, Schubert's Mass in G-minor, Saint-Säens' Christmas Oratorio, Mollicone's Beatitude Mass, staged versions of Schubert's Die Winterreise, Ahab (Bernard Herrmann's Moby Dick) and Jim Cockey's premier of Shalom: a Holocaust Memorial.

​Jason has continued to expand his repertory with the musical leads in Carousel, The King & I, Oklahoma!, and South Pacific, and was a 2023 grant recipient from the Idaho Commission on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts.

Currently, he resides in Boise, Idaho with his wife, mezzo-soprano Michele Detwiler, and studies with New York City's Andrea DelGiudice.