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Jane Jennings, soprano

b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up February 2007 The lovely young American Soprano, Jane Jennings is garnering acclaim for operatic portrayals ranging from Mozart’s delicate leading ladies to the sympathetic heroines in operas by Puccini and Verdi. Reviewing her first performances as Violetta in La Traviata, the Daily Camera wrote “Jane Jennings is a consummate Violetta; she’s a beautiful woman, young, with a voice that’s rich and radiant. She has mastered every nuance of the woman done-in both by disease and the hypocritical society of which she is a part. Jennings is secure in every register and has a control that makes her many pianissimos the most sensuous sounds heard here in many seasons. Jennings, however, makes Violetta more than a used and abused child of her time; she is all woman and her suffering is that of an individual — not of a character type.” In recent seasons, Miss Jennings has performed many of the roles in her repertoire in companies throughout the United States, as well as abroad. Micaela in Carmen provided her introduction to the New York City Opera as well as her European opera debut at the Teatro Bellini in Catania, Italy. Miss Jennings appeared as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Birmingham (AL), and Opera Delaware. The soprano looks forward to performing Pamina in the Dallas Opera production to be directed by Dr. Michael Hampe and conducted by Music Director Graeme Jenkins. Her San Antonio Opera debut will be in Die Zauberflöte as well. Her Arizona Opera debut was as Gilda in Michael Cavanagh’s production of Rigoletto which was conducted by Cal Stewart Kellogg. She returned to Arizona Opera as Fiordiligi in Ron Daniels’s production of Così fan tutte conducted by General and Artistic Director Joel Revzen, followed by additional performances as Fiordiligi at El Paso Opera. The soprano gave her first performances as Donna Anna in the Opera Omaha production of Don Giovanni conducted by Hal France. She performed the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro at the Pittsburgh Opera. Central City Opera offered her first performances of Violetta, and she subsequently appeared in La traviata at the Connecticut Opera under Artistic Director Willie Anthony Waters. She returned to Connecticut Opera as Mimi in the Renaud Doucet production of La bohème. Jane Jennings made her Mississippi Opera debut as Mimi, and appeared in the role in Ned Canty’s production which was conducted by David Briskin as well. The Soprano made her Dallas Opera debut as Woglinde in the Roberto Oswald production of Götterdämmerung, which was conducted by Music Director Graham Jenkins. Jane Jennings created the role of Ally Hawes in the world premiere of Stephen Paulus and Joan Vail Thorne’s opera Summer for the Berkshire Opera Company, led by Artistic Director Joel Revzen. Continuing her exploration of contemporary opera, in season 2002-2003 she gave her first performances of the Governess in Ken Cazan’s production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Opera Omaha, in performances conducted by Christopher Larkin. While a participant in the Pittsburgh Opera Center, under the direction of Tito Capobianco, she performed many of the roles in her repertoire including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Micaela in Carmen, Adina in L’Elisir D’Amore, Giulietta in I Capuleti e I Montecchi, and Magda in La Rondine. Her early assignments with the company were as the Angelic Voice in Don Carlo and as Frasquita in Carmen. A native of St. Charles, Missouri, Miss Jennings first came to attention through the apprentice program at Opera Theatre of St. Louis where she performed Lolette in La Rondine. As a Filene Young Artist, she made her debut at Wolf Trap Opera as Sifare in Mozart’s Mitridate, Re di Ponto which was conducted by Antony Walker and directed by James Robinson. Building on this experience she then appeared in regional companies throughout the United States as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Laurie in The Tender Land, Musetta in La bohème, the title role of Lakmé, Gilda in Rigoletto and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. A gifted recitalist, in December 1996 Miss Jennings was presented in her New York recital debut by Marilyn Horne on her “On Wings of Song” recital series. Her recital, which featured works by Bach, Barber, Schubert and Debussy, was broadcast on WQXR. The recital was followed by an invitation to appear on the Annual Marilyn Horne Foundation Gala Concert in New York. She received critical acclaim for her appearance on this special program. The New York Times cited her performance of Barber’s “Hermit Songs” as “affectingly sung,” and New York Magazine confirmed that “Jane Jennings caught its feelings of intimacy and wonder perfectly.” Since her recital debut on Miss Horne’s recital series, Jane Jennings has appeared with Steven Blier and the New York Festival of Song at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, at the Danny Kaye Theater at New York’s Hunter College, and in Washington, DC. Of their Washington vocal chamber work collaboration The Washington Post critic wrote “Soprano Jane Jennings has a full-bodied tone, expertly controlled, and an unusual mastery of words.” She has also appeared in a chamber concert of Mahler songs as part of the Bard Festival. Miss Jennings recently appeared in recital under the auspices of the Anchorage Concert Association in Alaska. In her native Missouri, she appeared on the Crescendo Concert Series and opened the new Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at her alma mater The University of Missouri at St. Louis. She will return to the University of Missouri in recital in the 2005-2006 season. An active concert artist, in recent seasons Miss Jennings has performed with many of the most prominent orchestras in America. She joined the Dallas Symphony for performances of the Mozart Requiem and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater (conducted by Claus Peter Flor), the Houston Symphony for Beethoven’s Mass in C Major (conducted by Andreas Delfs), the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Mozart Concert Arias (conducted by David Alan Miller), and the Pittsburgh Symphony for the ‘Letter Scene’ from Eugene Onegin (conducted by Thomas Dausgaard). Festival appearances included the Bach B minor Mass as part of the Caramoor Festival’s 60th anniversary season, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Colorado Symphony under Music Director Marin Alsop to open the 2002 Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, and in a performance of opera excerpts to open the 2002 Berkshire Choral Festival with Nicholas Cleobury. She returned to Berkshire Choral Festival as soprano soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass conducted by John Alexander. She also performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Music Festival. Miss Jennings previously performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Springfield, (MA) Symphony (conducted by Mark Russell Smith). This season she will perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the North Carolina Symphony under Music Director Grant Llewellyn and also with the Allentown Symphony in Pennsylvania. She will also perform Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the University of North Carolina and the Mozart C minor Mass and Solemn Vespers with the Oratorio Society at Carnegie Hall. Jane Jennings has also appeared as soloist performing Bach’s Mass in B minor with the St. Louis Bach Society, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Rutter’s Magnificat with the Danville (IL) Symphony, Bach’s Magnificat with the Masterworks Chorale (Belleville, IL), Poulenc’s Gloria with the University of Missouri-St. Louis Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with the Richmond Symphony (VA) and the Alton Symphony (IL). The Soprano made her European concert debut with the Bilbao Symphony performing Vaughan Williams’s Hodie. Miss Jennings may be heard on the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony recording of the Brahms Requiem conducted by Joel Revzen, and as Europa on the Telarc recording of Richard Strauss’s opera Die Liebe der Danae. The opera was recorded live at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with conductor Leon Botstein leading the American Symphony Orchestra. Jane Jennings graduated from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Masters Degree in Music. She was a recipient of a 1997 Richard Gold Career Grant, was a finalist in the 1996 D’Angelo Young Artist Competition and placed Second in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Midwest Regional Auditions. b i o.....rr e v i e w s back to roster...up . . . .

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. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up click here to read Jane Jenning's reviews (MS Word) b i o.....rr e v i e w s back to roster...up . . . .

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