Douglas Nagel,
Director of Education
 

A native Montanan, Mr. Nagel made his directing debut at 21. At that time, he was the youngest opera theater director at a university. After receiving his MM from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Douglas joined the faculty at California State University, Hayward, and held a similar position at Southern Oregon University, Ashland, Oregon. As Opera Theater Director for those schools he produced, directed and often conducted Die Fledermaus, The Tales of Hoffmann, Gigi, Pajama Game, The Pirates of Penzance, Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, The Hand of Bridge, L’Egisto, Riders to the Sea, Die Zauberflöte, The Scarf, The Telephone, The Impresario and L’Ormindo. For the last few seasons, Mr. Nagel has concurrently served as Artistic Director for Opera Idaho (Boise) and Rimrock Opera (Billings, Montana). Between the two companies, he produced and directed Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Don Pasquale, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen, The Merry Widow, and Hansel and Gretel.

Most recently, Mr. Nagel made his Northern Plains Opera  (North Dakota) debut directing The Merry Widow.  Other recent directorial engagements include La traviata at Rimrock Opera, Pirates of Penzance at Longview Opera in Texas, and Die Fledermaus with the Sacramento Opera. Mr. Nagel will continue to serve as Director for Rimrock Opera while serving as a consultant to OSJ's educational outreach programs. 

As a dramatic baritone, Mr. Nagel sang with such companies as Virginia Opera, Opera Idaho, Santa Barbara Grand Opera, Eugene Opera, Arizona Opera, Greater Buffalo Opera Company, The Western Slope Summer Music Festival, CO, and Bear Valley Music Festival. His repertoire included the roles of Scarpia, Don Giovanni, Germont, The Dutchman, Magnifico, Dr. Bartolo, Sharpless, Onegin and Wotan. The role of John the Baptist in Salome was one of Mr. Nagel’s signature roles, as he made his European debut in Germany, and repeated it with Opera Columbus, Virginia Opera, and The Opera Company of Philadelphia. Mr. Nagel recently sang Count Orlock (Dracula) at the world premiere of Alva Henderson’s Nosferatu, co-produced by Opera Idaho and Rimrock Opera.