Jennifer Wilson (born 1966, Fairfax, Virginia, USA) is an American soprano known especially for her

Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

opera roles. She is the daughter of Newton Wilson (son of the late

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines is a major ultra-low-cost U.S. airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 100 destinations throughout the United States and 31 international destinations, and employs more than 3,000 staff. The ca ...

co-founder Raymond Wilson) and Katherine Still. The daughter, granddaughter and niece of professional singers, instrumentalists and music educators, Wilson grew up steeped in music from opera and oratorio to rock 'n' roll and bluegrass. She began tap dance lessons at age 3, ballet at 8, piano at 10, and solo classical singing at 12. Wilson attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

for several years, eventually departing on a leave of absence which she filled with advanced training in acting, languages, and vocal studies with former

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

coloratura soprano

Marilyn Cotlow Marilyn Cotlow (born January 10, 1924) is an American lyric coloratura soprano best remembered for creating the role of Lucy in Gian Carlo Menotti's '' The Telephone'' in both the original Broadway and West End productions. She sang professional ...

. During this time, Wilson supported herself as a news bureau assistant and wire editor for

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

. The consolidation of US international broadcast services in 1995 caused Wilson to lose her position with RFE/RL, forcing her to find other employment. At this point she took up singing full-time, though her breakthrough to the elusive ranks of international soloist was still several years away.

Professional opera career

Wilson made her professional debut relatively late at the age of 36 in the title role of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

's '' Turandot'' with the

Connecticut Opera Connecticut Opera was a professional, non-profit, opera company based in Hartford, Connecticut, and a member of OPERA America. The company presented three fully staged opera productions during an annual season. It was founded in 1942 under the dir ...

in 2002. Prior to this she had spent much of her career in the chorus of opera houses such as

Washington Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performa ...

or as an understudy.Anne Midgette, The End of the Great Big American Voice
on www.nytimes.com Following this debut, she went on to take a number of major roles in the US although initially often appearing at short notice when the scheduled artist was unable to appear. Such roles included: *Turandot (

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

, 2003/2004 season *Brünnhilde (

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

): Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2004/2005 season. It was not until the 2004/2005 season, when, as an understudy, she took over from

Jane Eaglen Jane Eaglen (born 4 April 1960) is an English soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's ''Norma'' and Puccini's ''Turandot''. Background Jane Eaglen was born 4 April 19 ...

, due to illness, as Brünnhilde in Wagner's '' Götterdämmerung'' at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, that domestic and international success was to begin.Soprano's Kiss and tell
on www.theage.com.au Anne Midgette notes that Wilson's acclaimed performance in this role was made more remarkable by the fact that she had sung Brünnhilde in '' Die Walküre'' (in rehearsal) the previous day. Midgette noted' "Few people today have the vocal heft and stamina to get through even one of these roles, let alone take on both back to back." In the same season, she was to make her European operatic debut in Robert Wilson's production of ''Die Walküre'' at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a s ...

in Paris. For the 2006/2007 season she began a multi-season performance in a major, and internationally acclaimed, staging of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

in Spain, in what has become known as the "

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

Ring".Biography
on www.imgartists.com Here, she reprised her role of

Brünnhilde Brunhild, also known as Brunhilda or Brynhild ( non, Brynhildr , gmh, Brünhilt, german: Brünhild , label=Modern German or ), is a female character from Germanic heroic legend. She may have her origins in the Visigothic princess Brunhilda o ...

appearing in '' Die Walkuere'', ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' and '' Götterdämmerung'' and thus completing her first

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelung ...

. The 2008/2009 season saw Wilson make her debut in yet another Wagnerian leading role as Senta in '' The Flying Dutchman'' for Washington National Opera (she had previously sung with the company in the chorus). During this season she also made her

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, Covent Garden, debut as Turandot The 2009/2010 season saw Wilson debut as Aida for

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

(Australia's national opera company). She is to repeat this role, returning to Valencia's

Palau de les Arts Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Car ...

(where she performed in the La Fura dels Baus Ring Cycle) under

. She performed as Gutrune in ''Götterdammerung'' in

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Leadersh ...

's controversial new Ring Cycle.LA Opera Artist
on www.laopera.com She will also be giving major concert performances in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. 2009 also saw Wilson take on yet another Wagnerian role when she stepped in to replace Deborah Voigt as Isolde in Lyric Opera of Chicago's revival of the

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

production of '' Tristan und Isolde'' "Tristan und Isolde continues to conquer the Lyric"
on www.concertonet.com Wilson later repeated her Isolde in the Hockney production in Barcelona, under the baton of

Sebastian Weigle Sebastian Weigle (born 1961, in East Berlin) is a German conductor and horn player. He is currently ''Generalmusikdirektor'' of the Oper Frankfurt and principal conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra. Biography Weigle is a nephew of ...

. Isolde was also the role of her debuts at Oper Leipzig and the Hong Kong International Arts Festival in 2011.

Concert career

Like many successful operatic performers, Wilson also maintains a successful concert career wherein she has performed:

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

: '' Four Last Songs'',

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

: 9th Symphony, Verdi: Requiem, Mahler: 8th Symphony together with works by Duruflé, Haydn, Saint-Saëns and Vaughan Williams. Wilson's European orchestral solo debut took place in 2005, singing the four leading soprano roles in Erwin Schulhoff's opera '' Flammen'', in a live broadcast from Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, with the

Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra The Radio Filharmonisch Orkest (''Radio Philharmonic Orchestra''; Dutch abbreviation RFO) is a Dutch radio orchestra, based in Hilversum. The RFO performs under the aegis of the ''Muziekcentrum van de Omroep'' (Broadcasting Music Centre; NMBC), an ...

under

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former chief conductor of the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2016), Artistic Partner with the S ...

. In 2009 she made her debut in another Wagnerian role as Elisabeth in the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only orche ...

's concert performance of ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'' conducted by Kent Nagano Wilson returned to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in 2009 for Mahler's 8th Symphony and in 2010 for

's 9th Symphony. She has performed the soprano solo role in the

Verdi Requiem The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass ( Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired. The first performance, at ...

with Master Chorale of Washington and with the New Orleans Opera. 2011 saw her debut as Tove in '' Gurre-Lieder'' by

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

, with Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a performance recorded for eventual commercial CD release.

Principal roles

*Turandot: ''Turandot'', Puccini *Brünnhilde: ''Die Walküre'', Wagner. *Brünnhilde: ''Siegfried'', Wagner. *Brünnhilde: ''Götterdämmerung'', Wagner. *Gutrune: ''Götterdämmerung'', Wagner. *Aida: ''Aida'' Verdi. *Senta: ''Der Fliegende Hollander'', Wagner *Isolde: ''Tristan und Isolde'', Wagner *Leonore: ''Fidelio'', Beethoven *Elisabeth: ''Tannhäuser'', Wagner

Discography

*Richard Wagner: The Valencia Ring ''Die Walküre'', Orquesta de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta (C Major) 2010. DVD/Blu-ray *Richard Wagner: The Valencia Ring ''Siegfried'', Orquesta de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta (C Major) 2010. DVD/Blu-ray *Richard Wagner: The Valencia Ring ''Götterdämmerung'', Orquesta de la Comunitat Valenciana, Zubin Mehta (C Major) 2010. DVD/Blu-ray

Awards and grants

*Major grant from the Olga Forrai Foundation. *2003 Robert Lauch Memorial Grant from the Wagner Society of New York *Liederkranz Foundation's Ethel Bleakley Daniels Award for Wagnerian Voices. *Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Career Grant from the Wagner Society of Washington

Notes

External links

Official Website

Brünhilde, on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jennifer 1966 births Living people American operatic sopranos People from Fairfax, Virginia Musicians from Fairfax County, Virginia Singers from Virginia 21st-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from Virginia