Soprano Jennifer Rowley is acclaimed worldwide for her unforgettable voice and remarkable stage presence, singing a richly varied repertoire that includes many of opera’s greatest heroines. In the 2021/22 season, Ms. Rowley makes her house debut at Opéra de Rouen Normandie as her signature role of Leonora in Verdi’s Il Trovatore. Following this engagement, she sings the title role of Verdi’s Aida at the Serbian National Theatre and then returns to Semperoper Dresden to star as the title role of Puccini’s Tosca. Jennifer concludes the season by reprising the role of Amelia Grimaldi in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at Opernhaus Zürich, and she makes her debut at Palm Beach Opera in Lehár’s The Merry Widow.
On the concert stage, Ms. Rowley will perform a solo concert at the National Theatre in Belgrade, and she sings concert performances of Tosca with the Israel Philharmonic led by Zubin Mehta. She is the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s colossal Missa Solemnis with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additionally, she returns to Baldwin Wallace University for her fourth Artist Residency, where she will teach BW students in masterclasses and lessons.
In the 2020/21 season, Jennifer 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 greatly anticipated 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.”
Ms. Rowley’s concert engagements included singing her first Mahler Symphony No. 4 with the Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra. An avid mentor to young artists, Jennifer led her first Virtual Artist Residency with Fort Worth Opera, 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 with FWO to help singers navigate the new normal in the world of online auditioning.
Additionally, Ms. Rowley led her third Artist in Residency for Baldwin Wallace University, this time virtually, where she worked with BW students in workshop classes, individual coaching, lectures, and a masterclass. She led multiple Virtual Seminars with Vinceró Academy, and during the summer, she joined the faculty at the International Summer of Opera Festival of Morelia and was a featured guest voice teacher at the Vienna Summer Music Festival.
In 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 Rowley is “undeniably a dramatic artist.”
On the concert stage, Jennifer returned to Fort Worth Opera for a concert with pianist Joe Illick, joined by New York City Opera baritone Raymond Diaz. She sang a recital with Opera Naples, part of their “Opera Stars Concert” series; she returned to the Salisbury Symphony as the featured artist in their “Opera Fireworks” Gala Concert, and she also performed in concert for Toledo Opera. She led masterclasses at SUNY Potsdam, Bowling Green State University, and the University of Miami, and she taught on the voice faculty at the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia.
The following performances were unfortunately canceled due to the global pandemic: the title role of Tosca and Musetta in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera; her house debut at Dallas Opera as Tosca; Aida at Opéra national de Paris; her house and role debut at Opera Australia as Elizabeth I in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux; Aida at Toledo Opera; and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Philadelphia and at Carnegie Hall.
In the 2018/19 season, Ms. Rowley returned to The Metropolitan Opera for the title role in Puccini’s Tosca and her debut as Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur. Operawire celebrated her spectacular performance as Adriana Lecouvreur, which featured, “… a seemingly endless vocal line supporting by virtuosic breath support.” The season also marked her first appearance with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, singing Leonora in a new production of Verdi’s Il trovatore, and she later returned as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, both under the direction of Fabio Luisi. Jennifer served as the 2018/19 Artist-in-Residence at Baldwin Wallace University, where she taught masterclasses and lessons and presented a recital. She concluded her season with her return to the Semperoper Dresden for her first performances as Valentine in a premiere staging of Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots.