Debra Patchell's versatility as a singer spans opera, concert, recital and Broadway.
Ms. Patchell was an original cast member of Baz Luhrmann's Tony Award winning La Bohème on Broadway, in San Francisco and in Los Angeles where she won the Los Angeles Stage Alliance's Ovation Award for her performance. She also performed benefit concerts while a member of the cast to benefit Gilda's Club to help fight ovarian cancer.
Her recent performances include New York performances of Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, the role of Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, and a gala concert in her hometown of Midland, TX with the Midland-Odessa Symphony. Highlights of her dramatic mezzo-soprano roles include performances of Amneris, Azucena, and Adalgisa, with New Jersey State Opera, and Opera Company of Boston. She sang with noted stage directors and conductors, Sarah Caldwell (Opera Company of Boston), Nathaniel Merrill (Metropolitan Opera), and Alfredo Silipigni (New Jersey State Opera). Ms. Patchell has also performed Verdi's Requiem with Hamburg Camarata (Germany) and New Bedford Symphony with conductor, F. John Adams.
Other notable concert work has been with the Prism Chamber Orchestra of New York City in performances of Mario LaVista's Hacia el Comienzo, Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo and Siete Canciones Populares Españolas under the baton of Jeannine Wagar, and an appearance at the Ortiz Tirado Music Festival in Alamos, Mexico. Ms. Patchell has also made solo appearances with the Carmel Bach Festival, Minnesota Bach Society, El Paso Pro Musica, Dallas Symphony, and New Jersey Symphony.
Ms. Patchell holds Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, graduating with Distinction in Performance. She was on the voice faculties of Thayer Conservatory -Atlantic Union College and Gordon College. She has maintained a private voice studio since 1998 in New York , New Jersey and Philadelphia areas. Many of her students have gone on to professional singing and teaching careers.
Member Actor's Equity