Jennifer
Rowley

Soprano, Jennifer Rowley is acclaimed worldwide for her unforgettable voice and remarkable stage presence, singing a richly varied repertoire that includes opera's greatest heroines. The 2024/25 season highlights Rowley's continued ascent in the opera world. She opened with a reprisal of Minnie in La Fanciulla del West at Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts, under the direction of Thaddeus Strassberger and maestro Carlo Rizzi. Returning to Opernhaus Zurich, Rowley revisits the role of Amelia in Andreas Homoki's intense production of Simon Boccanegra for the third time. The season also brings a return to her signature role of Tosca at the Teatro Petruzzelli, in Bari, Italy, and with conductor Valentina Peleggi and the Richmond Symphony.

The 2023/24 season marked significant milestones for Jennifer Rowley, featuring several notable debuts. She performed at the Bayerische Staatsoper in a recital with pianist James Vaughn, and sang her celebrated role of Amelia in Simon Boccanegra at Opera Philadelphia. At the Teatro Carlo Felice, Rowley took on the title role of Madama Butterfly under maestro Fabio Luisi’s baton. Her role debut as Minnie in La Fanciulla del West at the Teatro Regio Torino drew high praise from Opera Libera, which lauded her “splendid soaring and confident instrument in the high notes” and her “interpretation of great communicative power and sweetness.” The season also saw her return to Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden for Tosca. Rowley’s concert appearances spanned continents, including performances at the Shanghai International Arts Festival, Weifang Concert Hall in Shandong, and the Coex Center in Seoul. In France, she headlined in a Puccini Gala concert with Opera de Tours, commemorating the composer’s centennial. The season concluded with Rowley as soprano soloist in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Richmond Symphony.  

Ms. Rowley’s 2022/23 season brought her debut at the Staatsoper Berlin Unter den Linden as Leonora in Il Trovatore, a revival of her celebrated portrayal as Valentine in Les Huguenots at the Semperoper Dresden, her role debut as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly for Palm Beach Opera, as well as her role and house debut in the title role of Manon Lescaut with the Teatro Verdi Salerno. Her concert schedule included international debuts at the Aspendos Ruins and Theatre in Aspendos, Turkey, the Opera Royal de Wallonie Liege in Belgium, the Royal Opera Versailles in France, as well as a solo concert with Opera Naples. In addition, she performed concerts at L’Opèra Royal de Versailles, the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea, and on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC entitled “Rebuild Harmony” with Opera Italiana is in the Air.   

During the 2021/22 season, she made her house debut at Opéra de Rouen in her signature role of Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore in a modern production directed by Clarac and Deloeuil’s ‘Le Lab’, with a highly praised cinema and television broadcast across France. She returned to the Semperoper Dresden to star as the title role of Puccini’s Tosca, and reprised her critically celebrated Amelia Grimaldi in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at Opernhaus Zürich. Ms. Rowley also made her house and role debut as Hannah Glawari in Lehár’s The Merry Widow at Palm Beach Opera, for which critics raved about her performance of the famous ‘Vilja Lied’ writing that it “should be placed among the greatest performances of this aria.” 

On the concert stage, Ms. Rowley performed concert performances of Tosca with the Israel Philharmonic led by maestro Zubin Mehta. She was the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s colossal Missa Solemnis with the Philadelphia Orchestra both in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center, and New York City’s Carnegie Hall, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

During the 2020/21 season, Ms. Rowley added another Verdi role to her growing list of repertoire, marking her role and house debut as Amelia in Andreas Homoki’s new production of Simon Boccanegra at Opernhaus Zürich. Her debut garnered international acclaim, with Opera News praising her “solid, commanding Amelia.” The opening night performance was streamed live from Zürich and later released on DVD in 2021. In addition, she sang her signature role of Tosca for her house debut at Opéra de Marseille, with Ôlyrix calling her performance of “Vissi d’arte” “one of the most beautiful lyrical moments of this Marseille season.”  

During the 2019/20 season, Ms. Rowley made her house and role debuts at the National Theatre Prague as Amelia in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as the title role of Aida. Of her Aida, Platea Magazine praised her “phrasing, breath management, expressive force in the high notes and subtlety at important moments,” calling them “her best weapons.” In Prague, her portrayal of Amelia garnered critical acclaim from KlassikaPlus.Cz, saying she gave the role “a romantic expression with a great personal touch in both voice and acting, with vocal certainty,” and that Ms. Rowley is “undeniably a dramatic artist.” Other noteworthy performances include the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur, Tosca and Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as Leonora at Opera de Paris, and Maggio Musicale Florentino. 

Audiences will remember Jennifer Rowley’s triumphant Metropolitan Opera role debut as Roxane in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac (2017) with Roberto Alayna in the title role, which inspired universal critical praise. The New York Times raved that this was a “break-through moment,” further adding that for the heartbreaking final scene, “Ms. Rowley sang with an intensity of expression and a subtly embittered sound that suggested a singer for enormous gift and promise.” The New York Classical Review echoed these statements, also calling this “a breakout night for Ms. Rowley.” Operawire called her Roxane “the heart of the production,” The Observer said she is “a superb artist,” while ConcertoNet called her Roxane “a revelation.” Ms. Rowley previously made her Metropolitan Opera stage debut in a sparkling portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème. 

Ms. Rowley is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of opera artists, carrying forward the legacy of her own mentor, Martina Arroyo. In 2022, she launched Jennifer Rowley’s Aria Bootcamp in Sarasota, FL, which evolved into a fully-fledged young artist training program and non-profit by 2023. Her dedication to nurturing talent extends to regular artist residencies with young artist programs and an annual residency at her alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. Ms. Rowley led an internationally acclaimed Virtual Artist Residency with Fort Worth Opera during the COVID-19 pandemic, where she held weekly themed Zoom masterclasses, engaging lectures, and casual Instagram Live chats with other singers, directors, coaches, and opera industry professionals. The success of that series led her to create an exclusive, six-week Virtual Audition Intensive.   

Ms. Rowley’s calendar includes an active seminar and masterclass series for colleges and universities internationally. She has taught masterclasses and seminars for NATS NY and Tampa chapters, Penn State University, SUNY Potsdam, Bowling Green State University, the University of Miami, and for the young artist programs at Shreveport Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and Toledo Opera. Ms. Rowley has served as voice faculty for several international festivals including Vincero Academy, Camerata Bardi Academy, the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia, and Vienna Summer Music Festival. She is also a recommended judge for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.

Ms. Rowley is a highly decorated soprano who has been recognised by many international competitions. She was awarded the 2012 Richard Tucker Career Grant, was one of the top prize winners in the 2013 Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition and the 2011 Opera Index Vocal Competition, a winner of the 2011 William Mattheus Sullivan Musical Foundation awards, a first prize-winner of the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, a grant winner of the 2011 Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, and the winner of the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the Michigan District. 

Ms. Rowley holds a Master of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. She holds a Certificate of Performance Achievement from the Instituto Superior del Arte of the Teatro Colón and was a Max Kade Scholar at Middlebury College’s German for Singers Program. Ms. Rowley serves as an advisory board member for Classical Singer Magazine. 

August 2024

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