NEW ROCHELLE, NY (October 23, 2025) — New Rochelle Opera will present “Great Moments from the Grand Stage!” on Sunday, November 9, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. in the Christopher Murphy Auditorium at Iona University
The first half of the program includes beloved arias and ensembles from the world’s greatest composers, with selections from New Rochelle Opera’s upcoming 2026 concert production of Verdi’s Nabucco.
The second half highlights great Broadway melodies, including music by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
“This concert beautifully bridges the worlds of opera and musical theatre and features performing artists that will thrill and inspire in both,” said Maestro Jason Tramm, the newly appointed Artistic and General Director of New Rochelle Opera. “Audiences will experience the timeless power of the unamplified human voice.”
General admission tickets cost $40, with $35 for seniors and $15 for non-Iona students. Iona University staff and students attend free of charge.
Tickets are available at www.nropera.org or by mail to New Rochelle Opera, P.O. Box 55, New Rochelle, NY 10804.
The concert features soprano Christina Major, tenor Jeremy Brauner, mezzo-soprano Michelle Detwiler, baritone Jason Detwiler, pianist Alla Milchtein and emcee Jason Tramm.
Soprano Christina Major has been praised in the Dallas Morning News for her sumptuous and agile “Italianate sound” that brings back memories of the earlier greats. She was hailed in Opera News as a “sensitive actress” who “brought the highest emotional stakes of the evening.” San Francisco Chronicle’s Joshua Kosman described her as having “expressive verve and technical command.” Her 2025-2026 season includes returning to Opera Tampa as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth, soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah at Ocean Grove’s Great Auditorium, Leonora in Il Trovatore at Seton Hall under Jason Tramm, and a featured role in “A Tribute to Pavarotti” with Teatro Lirico D’Europa in Jacksonville. Previous highlights include debuts as Norma at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Tampa, and Mimi in La Bohème with Fort Worth Opera and Knoxville Opera. As a concert artist, she has performed with the Greenville Symphony in works like Verdi’s Requiem and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and appeared with ensembles including the Phoenix Symphony, Dallas Symphony Chorus and Jacksonville Symphony. She is a grant recipient from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation and Gerda Lissner Foundation, and a winner of the Trujillo International Voice Competition and Dallas Opera Competition.
Tenor Jeremy Brauner has been described by Operawire’s Chris Ruel as having “grown into a voice of unbridled power, with a spine-tingling squillo and a brassy tone that demands attention like a bugle’s call to arms.” A finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition northeast region in 2019 and grant recipient from the Wagner Society of New York in 2020 and Olga Forrai Foundation in 2022, he holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theatre from Montclair State University. Brauner began as a baritone in Rossini roles before debuting as a tenor as Alfredo in La Traviata with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in 2016. His roles include Cavaradossi in Tosca, Calaf in Turandot, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Canio in Pagliacci, B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Loris in Fedora with Teatro Grattacielo, Arrigo in I Vespri Siciliani with New Amsterdam Opera, Giorgio in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Garden of the Finzi-Continis with New York City Opera, Il Montecchio in Zandonai’s Giulietta e Romeo with Teatro Grattacielo, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with Boheme Opera of New Jersey and others, and Rodolfo in La Bohème with Opera Modesto.
Mezzo-soprano Michelle Detwiler has sung over 30 roles with regional companies in the United States, favoring Mahler, Strauss, Bel Canto and French repertoire. Critics have described her instrument as “amber-voiced,” “a velvety mezzo soprano voice with excellent range,” with performances being “riveting” and holding “center stage commandingly.” She has performed over a dozen characters with Opera Idaho, recently debuted as Madama Quickly in Falstaff with Opera Modesto, and will return to Opera Idaho as Albine in Thaïs next season. Additional credits include Sacramento Opera, MidAtlantic Opera, West Bay Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Mission City Opera, the Boise Philharmonic and Master Chorale, Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra, Auburn Symphony, Boise Baroque and Symphony Silicon Valley, as well as guest and resident artist roles with Opera San Jose. Her concert credits include soloist in Haydn’s Creation, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Symphony No. 2, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Herzogenberg’s Die Geburt Christi, Einhorn’s Voices of Light, and the Old Lady in Bernstein’s Candide Suite, plus numerous Bach cantatas. She lives in Idaho with her husband, baritone Jason Detwiler, studies with NYC teacher Andrea DelGiudice, and is managed by Peter Randsman.
Baritone Jason Detwiler has nearly 70 roles to his credit and is known for “magnetic and energizing stage performances,” with his voice and acting described as “emotionally fervid,” “richly expressive” and “commanding.” Acclaimed roles include Eugene Onegin, Il Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles, and Gianni Schicchi. Recent performances include Ford in Falstaff with Opera Modesto, Gianni Schicchi with Opera Idaho, Escamillo in La Tragédie de Carmen with Tulsa Opera, and the title role in Don Pasquale with Mendocino Music Festival. Upcoming are covering Sweeney Todd with Opera Idaho, Il Conte di Luna with South Orange Performing Arts Center, and the Baron in Viardot’s Cendrillon with Opera Modesto, marking his 70th role. He has performed with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, New York City Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Parallèle, Center for Contemporary Opera, Syracuse Opera, Opera Mississippi, Sacramento Opera, Opera San Jose, Shreveport Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, West Bay Opera, Opera Idaho, Inland Northwest Opera, MidAmerica Productions at Carnegie Hall, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic & Master Chorale, Boise Baroque, Tree City Chamber Players, and Idaho Concerts in Care, plus Opéra Théâtre d’Avignon in France and Teatro Comunale di Manini in Italy. Concert credits include Bach’s St. John Passion, Cantatas 82 & 140, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s and Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Dvořák’s Te Deum, Schubert’s Mass in G-minor, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass, staged Schubert’s Winterreise, Ahab in Bernard Herrmann’s Moby Dick, and Jim Cockey’s premiere of Shalom: A Holocaust Memorial. He has expanded into musical leads in Carousel, The King & I, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, and Apollo in Jake Landau’s Psyche. He resides in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, mezzo-soprano Michelle Detwiler, is managed by Randsman Artists’ Management, and studies with New York City’s Andrea DelGiudice.
Pianist Alla Milchtein, born in Russia and raised in Mexico, discovered her love for collaborative arts at an early age and has enjoyed an international career as a collaborative pianist to emerging stars. She maintains an active performing career with vocal and instrumental partners and chamber ensembles. Currently staff pianist at Mannes College New School for Music for the College and Prep divisions, past positions include accompanying staff at Rotterdam Conservatory, Rudolf Steiner College, Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, and Jalisco State Choir. She has performed at festivals including Cervantino International Music Festival in Guanajuato, Festival de Mazatlán, Kamermuziek Festival tussen Maas & Waal, Het Russische Muziek, Beverly Hills Chamber Music Festival, Lucca Music Festival 2008, Aspen Music Festival, and Glimmerglass Festival. Milchtein served as staff pianist at competitions such as Mannes Concerto Competition, International Voice Competition in Sinaloa, Postacchini International Violin Competition, and Vriendenkrans Concours of Concertgebouw. As coach/répétiteur, she has worked for Glimmerglass Opera, Aspen Opera, New Opera NYC, Jalisco State Opera, Rotterdamse Opera Productions, Blue Bottle Opera Company, Vocedidone Opera Studio, and Pepita Embil Zarzuela Company. She holds a Bachelor’s in Piano Performance and Master’s in Piano Performance and Chamber Music from Rotterdam Conservatory, studying with Mila Baslawskaja, and pursued Professional Studies in Collaborative Piano at Mannes College with Cristina Stanescu, where she received a scholarship, an “excellence in accompanying” award, and a COJECO Blue Print fellowship to record the 2015 CD “Musical Journeys through the Jewish Diaspora” of solo piano music by Jewish composers.
The event is presented in collaboration with the Iona University Council on the Arts, with support from ArtsWestchester and the Westchester County Government, through the generosity of JoAnn and Joseph M. Murphy and the Baron Lambert Fund.
For more information about New Rochelle Opera and upcoming productions, visit www.nropera.org.
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
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