Jennifer Wilson

Jennifer Wilson (born 1966, Fairfax, Virginia, USA) is an American soprano known especially for her Wagnerian opera roles. She is the daughter of Newton Wilson (son of the late Frontier Airlines 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 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 coloratura soprano Marilyn Cotlow. During this time, Wilson supported herself as a news bureau assistant and wire editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 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.

Wilson made her professional debut relatively late at the age of 36 in the title role of Puccini's Turandot with the Connecticut Opera in 2002. Prior to this she had spent much of her career in the chorus of opera houses such as Washington Opera or as an understudy. 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:

It was not until the 2004/2005 season, when, as an understudy, she took over from Jane Eaglen, due to illness, as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Götterdämmerung at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, that domestic and international success was to begin.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 in Paris.

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