Jennifer Wilson
In 2002 American soprano Jennifer Wilson made her operatic stage debut as Turandot with the Connecticut Opera, and since that time has firmly established herself as one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos.
Following on the heels of her Connecticut success, Jennifer Wilson debuted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Helmwige (Die Walküre) and made her first appearance in Europe as the leading soprano in Schulhoff's Die Flammen at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. In 2003/04, Jennifer made a short-notice debut at Houston’s Grand Opera, again as Turandot, prompting The Houston Chronicle to declare her "A star in the making". Bob Wilson’s production of Die Walküre at Paris’ Théâtre du Châtelet marked her European operatic debut in 2005/06, conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.
In addition to further successful productions of Turandot for the Santa Fe Opera, Opera Australia and the Thessaloniki Concert Hall in Greece, Jennifer Wilson enjoyed a huge success with her first Brünnhilde in Die Götterdämmerung at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, also performing Helmwige and Gutrune in their 2005 Ring Cycles. A debut as Senta at the artist’s home house - Washington National Opera - was acclaimed by the critics with : “Jennifer Wilson registers sit-up-and-take-notice star power in her role debut as Senta.” (The Baltimore Sun).
In the 2006/07 season, Jennifer Wilson began a multi-season collaboration with Zubin Mehta, the Palau de les Arts, Valencia, and the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence as Brünnhilde in new productions of Die Walküre, Siegfried and Die Götterdämmerung, which culminated in her highly-acclaimed first complete Ring cycle performances, recorded for TV broadcast and now available on DVD/Blu-Ray on the C-Major Entertainment label. The great success achieved as Brünnhilde was confirmed by extremely positive reviews on the Seen and Heard International Opera Review: “Jennifer Wilson was again an outstanding Brünnhilde, full of power and intensity […] To my mind, she could be the Brünnhilde of our times”. The 2008/09 season saw further successful house debuts at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Turandot with Nicola Luisotti), at Hamburg State Opera (Die Walküre with Simone Young) and a role debut as Isolde at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Sir Andrew Davis.
The 2009/10 season brought Jennifer Wilson’s debut as Aida for Opera Australia, a house debut at the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Tristan und Isolde, conducted by Sebastian Weigle, as well as Gutrune in the Los Angeles Opera’s new Ring Cycle with James Conlon. Other notable previous seasons’ engagements were Isolde with the Leipzig Opera, the Hong Kong Festival, ABAO Bilbao as well as with the Welsh National Opera; Fidelio’s Leonore in Valencia, Brünnhilde in Hamburg and Berlin, under Young and Runnicles respectively; the title role in Turandot at the Bayerische Staatsoper; Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with the Israel Philharmonic, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer at Tokyo’s New National Theatre as well as at the Wiener Staatsoper and Tristan und Isolde in concert in Valencia.
Engagements in season 2012/13 included Turandot and Brünnhilde at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Der fliegende Holländer with the CBSO and at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, as well as Irene in Rienzi under Thielemann in Bayreuth. Jennifer Wilson opened her 2013/14 season as Brünnhilde with the Odense Symphonic Orchestra under Alexander Vedernikov and Abigaille in Nabucco at Wiener Staatsoper. In 2013/14, Jennifer scored back to back triumphs as Isolde with Oper Frankfurt and as the Faerberin in a landmark new production with Oper Leipzig. She returned to her role of Brünnhilde in Die Walküre at the Palau de les Arts in Valencia under the baton of Zubin Mehta. She also sang as Leonora in Fidelio at Opéra Royal de Wallonie.
Future projects include Isolde in Napoli and Amsterdam, Rienzi/Irene in Washington, Turandot in Leipzig, and Jennifer’s Metropolitan Opera debut, also as Turandot, in fall 2015.
Also a versatile concert artist, Jennifer Wilson's extensive repertoire includes Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Beethoven's Symphony No 9 and Verdi’s Requiem alongside less frequently performed works by composers such as Durufle, Haydn, Saint-Saëns and Vaughan-Williams. A debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Kent Nagano as Elisabeth in concert performances of Wagner’s Tannhäuser led to immediate return invitations for performances of Mahler’s Symphony No 8 and Beethoven’s Symphony No 9.
A native of Fairfax, Virginia, Jennifer Wilson is the recipient of a major grant from the Olga Forrai Foundation, as well as the 2003 Robert Lauch Memorial Grant from the Wagner Society of New York and the Liederkranz Foundation's Ethel Bleakley Daniels Award for Wagnerian Voices. She is the recipient of the Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart Emerging Singers Career Grant from the Wagner Society of Washington.
