Jennifer Johnson Cano is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. Before her college education, she attended St. Pius X High School (Festus, Missouri), graduating in the Class of 2002. While in high school, she was a member of the choir, singing at Mass and state competitions. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Webster University and a Master of Music degree from Rice University where she was a pupil of Kathleen Kaun. In 2008, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, [1] and in 2009, she won the Young Concert Artists competition and was the recipient of a Sullivan Foundation grant. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
In 2008, Cano made her professional opera debut with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as The Muse/Nicklausse in Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann . In 2009, she made her debut at the Chicago Opera Theater as Kate Julian in Benjamin Britten's Owen Wingrave , and made her debut at the Met as one of the Bridesmaids in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro . [2] She has since returned to the Met as the Sandman in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel , Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung , Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly , and Ludmila in The Bartered Bride in three performances presented by The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in partnership with the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at the Juilliard School. [3]
Cano was born in Saint Louis, is married to the pianist Christopher Cano and lives in New York City. [4]
Stephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has performed annually since her debut with the company in 1995. In 2014 she starred as Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of 27, an opera composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with libretto by Royce Vavrek, and commissioned for her by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Benita Valente is an American soprano whose career has encompassed the operatic stage as well as performance of lieder, chamber music and oratorio. She is especially lauded for her interpretations of Mozart and Handel, but she also excelled in certain Verdi roles. The New York Times once referred to her as "as gifted a singer as we have today, worldwide."
Monica Yunus is an American operatic soprano who has performed with many opera companies and music ensembles. She is the daughter of Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, Noble Laurette economist Muhammad Yunus. About her singing quality reviewers from US dailies, The New York Times, the Charleston City Paper and the Palm Beach Daily News have described her voice as "especially winning", "utterly captivating" and "a voice destined for super-stardom" respectively. Her voice's performance range lies from a low A (A3) to a high F (F6). She performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 2003-2014; appearing in several broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera Live in HD.
Christine Brewer is an American soprano opera singer.
Gail Robinson was an American operatic soprano who sang with many of the world's leading opera companies during the 1970s and 1980s. She spent most of her career singing lyric coloratura roles at the Metropolitan Opera. After her performance career ended she taught singing to young artists and also directed the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist Program for over ten years. Upon leaving the Met, she joined the voice faculty at the University of Kentucky.
Kate Lindsey is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States. She is married to the documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert.
Alyson Cambridge is an American operatic soprano. In addition to opera, she sings classical song, jazz, and American songbook and popular song. She is also known for her work as a model, actress, and host.
Layla Claire is a Canadian soprano opera singer.
Ruth Falcon was an American operatic soprano and voice teacher.
Angela Meade is an American operatic soprano.
Stanford Olsen is an American tenor who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since 1983. He has sung with several of the world's leading opera companies, including the Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala and the Royal Opera, London. He was a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera from 1986 until 1997 where he gave more than 160 performances. A specialist in light lyric tenor roles, he excelled in the operas of Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini. After retiring from full-time performance in the late 1990s he became a faculty member at the Florida State University's College of Music, where he was Professor of Voice and Lucille P. and Elbert B. Shelfer Eminent Scholar. He joined the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in 2012. In 2015 he was appointed Director of the Castleton Festival's Artist Training Seminar. He continues to perform on the concert platform in addition to his teaching and coaching.
Ginger Costa-Jackson is an Italian-American operatic mezzo-soprano who performs often with the Metropolitan Opera since entering its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2007. The Met: Live in HD global broadcasts feature her frequently, as do other major theaters and concert venues worldwide. Costa-Jackson has performed in her native Italian as well as English, French, and Spanish; she speaks these languages fluently, along with limited German. While her signature role is Carmen, Costa-Jackson also performs comic roles, as in her Marchesa di Poggio, and also her 2009 Celia in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe with the San Francisco Symphony.
Janai Brugger is an American operatic soprano. In 2014, music critic F. Paul Driscoll described her in Opera News as "gifted with a supple, beautifully shaded lyric soprano."
Wallis Giunta is a Canadian mezzo-soprano opera singer and actress performing at leading theatres and opera companies around the world.
Ying Fang is a Chinese operatic soprano. A principal soprano at the Metropolitan Opera in Manhattan, she won the Golden Bell Award at the Guangdong Singing Competition in China in 2009, first prize at the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition in 2013, and the Lincoln Center Segal Award in 2015. Her performances have been featured on the television program Great Performances at the Met and in movie theaters for the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD. In 2015 Opera News stated that "Ying Fang sings with exquisite simplicity and directness. The twenty-eight-year-old soprano never forces her sound or indulges in coloratura 'flash.' She is incapable of vulgarity; her dignity is unshakeable, and her powers of persuasion are sovereign."
Camellia Johnson was an American concert and opera singer. She began her career performing works from the mezzo-soprano repertoire, but after encouragement from the staff at the Metropolitan Opera retrained her voice as a soprano. She successfully made that transition after winning the Young Concert Artists competition in 1993. She went on to perform as a leading soprano with orchestras and opera companies internationally.
Julia Bullock is an American soprano originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Anthony Tommasini from The New York Times has called her an "impressive, fast-rising soprano... poised for a significant career”.
Wendy Bryn Harmer is a dramatic soprano, best known for her roles in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.
Nikki Li Hartliep is a Japanese-born American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world.
Erin Morley is an American operatic soprano.