“The journey to eastern Switzerland was worth it
only because of David Maze's superior,
baritonally rich Valentin.”
– Der Bund, Zürich
The Swiss début of American baritone David Maze as Valentin in St. Gallen's production of Faust was reviewed in Bern's daily Der Bund as follows: “The journey to eastern Switzerland was worth it only because of David Maze's superior, baritonally rich Valentin.” Summing up five recent Swiss productions of Faust (in Basel, Bern, Lucerne, Zurich and St. Gallen), the Neue Zürcher Zeitung assembled their ideal 'all-star' cast of singers that included Inva Mula, Ruggiero Raimondi, and David Maze.
Upcoming engagements for David Maze’s 2005-06 season at the Opera House of St. Gallen include the Father in Hänsel und Gretel, the Police Commissioner in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, and the Sacristano in Tosca. In 2006-07 David Maze is scheduled to sing in St. Gallen the title role in Don Giovanni, Herr Fluth in Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Viceroy of Peru in La Périchole, and a leading role in the world premiere of Wolf Brennan’s opera Night Shift.
Engagements for 2004-05 in St. Gallen were Zar in Zar und Zimmerman, Dandini in La cenerentola and the title role of Eugene Onegin. In the course of the previous two years, David Maze sang in St. Gallen additionally the roles of the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Ping in Turandot, Sacristano in Tosca, Peter in Hänsel und Gretel, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and L’Horloge/Le Chat in L’enfant et les Sortilèges. His other performance credits in Switzerland include Ibn-Hakia in Tchaikovsky's Iolanthe, Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri, Germont in La traviata, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Albert in Werther, Falke in Die Fledermaus, the title role in Viktor Ullmann's Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Faninal in Der Rosenkavalier, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra, Stárek in Jenufa, and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. David Maze’s role début as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire in St. Gallen was very favorably reviewed by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung in April 2002: “David Maze portrays a virile Stanley, whose metallic baritone voice is capable of a warm mellowness during the duet with his wife.”
Mr. Maze made his European début in 1993 at Paris' Opéra-Comique as Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos. He made his Italian début as Wolfram in Tannhäuser at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and he opened the 1998-99 season as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly in the Salzburg Festspielhaus.
Mr. Maze has brought his acclaimed Marcello to the Virginia Opera, Opera Delaware, The Houston Grand Opera's Miller Park series, Opera Memphis, Lucerne (Switzerland) and St. Gallen. Of his opening night performance in Richmond, John McKay of the Richmond Times-Dispatch wrote, “Maze projected a resonant, powerful voice with flawless intonation.”
David Maze has sung major roles with more than 20 American companies. He first appeared at the Sarasota Opera as Sonora in La fanciulla del West and Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette and returned to sing Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. A favorite artist of the Virginia Opera, he has sung Marcello, Valentin, Germont, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. Mr. Maze has portrayed Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Delaware, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Augusta Opera, and Des Grieux in Massenet's The Portrait of Manon with the Boston Lyric Opera. Mr. Maze débuted with the Cleveland Opera as Schaunard, sang his first Danilo in The Merry Widow for New England Operetta, returned to Opera Delaware as Falke, sang Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor with Syracuse Opera, and sang the title role in Eugene Onegin with the Flint Symphony in Michigan.
Mr. Maze has scored success in many significant premieres. He sang the role of Pacuvio in the American premiere of Rossini's La pietra del paragone at the Austin Lyric Opera, Ben Palmer in the San Antonio Festival's premiere of Robert Xavier Rodriguez' opera The Old Majestic, created the role of Gerry in Michael Ching's Cue 67 at the Virginia Opera, performed the role of L'Ami at L'Opéra Français de New York in the American premiere of Milhaud's Le pauvre matelot and created the role of La Conscience in Gérard Zinstag's Ubu Cocu in St. Gallen.
Mr. Maze enjoys an active schedule of orchestral engagements. He has performed Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Sante Fe Symphony and the Austin Civic Orchestra, Vaughan-Williams' A Sea Symphony in both Flint and Mexico City, Thea Musgrave's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge with the Virginia Symphony, Fauré's Requiem with the Zürich Gemischter Chor, Finzi's In Terra Pax with the Augusta Opera Chorus, Rachmaninoff's The Bells with the Charlotte Symphony, Vaughan-Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem with the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra, Dave Brubeck's La Fiesta de la Posada (with the composer), and Elijah and Israel in Egypt with the Texas Bach Choir. He is in great demand as soloist in Carl Orff's masterpiece Carmina Burana, a work he has performed in Antwerp, Belgium, with the Flint Symphony, and on two occasions with the National Symphony of Mexico.
