Jennifer Wilson Soprano
Quotes, Reviews & Features
Reviews
Opera Australia - Aida
"American soprano Jennifer Wilson was undoubtedly the star in the title role, her almost faultlessly controlled voice equally adept at passages of high drama and quiet pathos.'
- Arts Hub, 13/11/09
"The American soprano Jennifer Wilson sang Aida with fine strong and unforced tone, easily delivering those treacherous high notes, but also bringing lyricism, vulnerability and mobility to her performance..'
- The Age, 12/11/09
"The sets are regal and the costumes gleam...a finely honed and powerful production...this opera is beautifully sung, especially Jennifer Wilson (Aida)'
- The Sunday Age, 22/11/09
"A capacity audience roared with delight as the curtain fell at the Melbourne opening night of Aida earlier this month. It saw a debut for Jennifer Wilson as Aida, one that she effortlessly negotiated.'
- The Australian, 21/11/09
" Wilson stamps her authority on the title role, which demands a soprano who can sing with power and human warmth.'
- Herald Sun, 12/11/09
Palau de Les Arts, Valencia - Ring Cycle
" The American Jennifer Wilson, repeated her Brunnhilde and was again excellent. Surely she is today the brightest soprano at the 'Hojo to Hos', with high notes that are like whiplashes, full of power and pitched exactly right...To my mind, she could be the Brunnhilde of our times".'
- Seen and Heard International Review/Musicweb International, 09/07/09
"...here we have a new star on the Nibelungen's heaven. What a voice, what a command of it this lady has! Even on the ringing and securely placed top-notes she easily keeps her full power, and sometimes even adds another pinch. Her lustrous and warm soprano seems to have countless colours; a rich and creamy sound that does not lack power, especially in the heights. Despite all her power she never forced her voice. She sings with great sensitivity and tenderness. Wagner would have loved her."
- Maestro.net.pl, 14/07/09
Chicago Lyric Opera - Tristan und Isolde
"Ms Wilson...turned in an excellent account of the Irish princess; one distinguished by singular power and beauty of timbre as well as intelligently deployed interpretive instincts...This is one impressive voice, voluminous and gleaming, with an attractive splash of cream, and used with great taste and sensitivity...It was a prodigious success, and this is an artist to watch very closely.'
- Concerto.net, 17/02/09
WashingtonNational Opera - Der Fliegende Höllander
“By contrast, Jennifer Wilson, as Senta, showed that beautiful singing was her top priority. This ‘Dutchman’ marked a Cinderella WNO debut for Wilson, returning to a stage where she sang in the chorus for six seasons before embarking on what is shaping up to be a very nice international career. The buzz is deserved…she sings with a creamy, lyrical sound…’
- Washington Post, 17/03/08
“As Senta, the Dutchman’s noble redemptrix, Miss Wilson, a Fairfax native, is his perfect counterpart…Her high notes never fail and her rich reserves of power seem inexhaustible.’
- Washington Times, 17/03/08
“Jennifer Wilson was a complete triumph in her company debut as Senta. A former member of the WNO chorus, she has a beautifully produced dramatic soprano voice of true Wagnerian quality. Her top is gleaming and pure with great thrust and plenty of ring. She was magnificent vocally in her delivery of the famous ballad, and she only grew in intensity throughout the evening. Wagner makes near impossible demands upon Senta’s part, taking her to sustained outbursts at the top of her range in the final moments of the opera. Ms. Wilson really delivered the goods in these moments and caused a real thrill and sensation in the house.”
- Concertonet.com, 15/03/08
" Jennifer Wilson registers sit-up-and-take-notice star power in her role debut as Senta.”
-The Baltimore Sun, 16/03/08
“Soprano Jennifer Wilson took on her first Senta in a triumphant return to Washington…Wilson has a puissant top, put to impressive use in the final scene, and a buttery tone…’
- DCist, 17/03/08
“Wilson sings with such delicate and rich beauty, she enchants every scene, most especially during her aria in which she sings the Dutchman’s ballad. She is a calm and nuanced actor, inhabiting this young but emotionally deep woman with grace and credibility.’
- Metro Weekly, 20/3/08
Thessaloniki Concert Association – Turandot
“Best of all, though, was the Megaron’s superlative casting in an opera that is notoriously difficult to bring off. In Thessaloniki , we had American soprano Jennifer Wilson in the title role. Wilson made her professional debut a little over three years ago and is already a seasoned Turandot, with her career veering inexorably into the big Wagner roles. And my goodness, what a voice! Where others screech and holler their way through Puccini’s demanding, angular vocal
writing, Wilson negotiates this music with a proper sense of phrasing and musical line, bringing warmth and colour to even the high Bs and Cs and never showing an inklink of strain. This was a remarkable performance, making the transformation from a creature of ice and steel into a woman inflamed by passion completely believable.”
-Ashutosh Khandekar, Opera Now, March/April 2006
Opera Australia - Turandot
"As the centee of attention, Jennifer wilson is magnificent as the imperious Princess Turandot. Her voice is rich, warm and lustrous. It is certainly powerful enough to easily rise above the chorus and orchestra when required, but also capable of great tenderness...'
- Bill Stephens, The Cranberra Review, July 2006.
Santa FeOpera – Turandot
“Jennifer Wilson (who recently sang Gutrune in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Wagner's Gotterdammerung) is an extremely powerful and effective Turandot. The brilliant acoustics are a surprise in a large house that is open to the winds. Wilson projects hugely from the back of the stage”
-Michael Portillo, New Statesman, August 22, 2005
“Soprano Jennifer Wilson's ice princess Turandot cut through the orchestra and sang impressively throughout.”
-Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 7, 2005
“a Turandot of high quality and even greater potential.”
-Craig Smith, The New Mexican, July 3, 2005
Lyric Opera of Chicago - Gotterdammerung
"Ms. Wilson not only sang the killer leading role of the five-hour 'Gotterdammerung,' she als sang it so well, with a huge, beautiful sound and dramatic nuance, that she brought down the house. It was as if a pitcher were called up from the minor leagues and threw two perfect games on two consecutive days.'
- Anne Midgette, NY Times, November 2005
HoustonGrand Opera - Turandot
“Tense expectation surrounded the appearance of soprano Jennifer Wilson in the title role of the icy princess who seeks to revenge an ancestor by killing off the suitors who cannot answer her three riddles…An unknown who had sung Turandot only once before at Connecticut Opera, Wilson was making her major house debut in one of the great roles of the dramatic soprano repertoire. The princess doesn't appear until Act Two and her first music is the demanding aria In questa Reggia…She proved a star in the making in a vocal category whose ultimate role is Brünnhilde in Wagner'sDer Ring des Nibelungen. ( Wilson is the understudy for that part in Chicago next year.)…She had power and secure top notes. Her phrasing was uncommonly intelligent. Legato singing was supple yet firm. Through her voice she could tell the audience volumes about a single word…And she had an instinct for vocal drama that made her Act Two confrontation with the mysterious suitor Calaf, also called The Unknown Prince, almost unbearably exciting…She matched Russian tenor Vladimir Galouzine vocal thrust for vocal thrust.”
- Houston Chronicle, May 2004
“American soprano Jennifer Wilson and Russian tenor Vladimir Galouzine pair to propel music from Puccini’s final opera to the last row of the Wortham Theater Center ’s balcony with forceful elegance…Though the setting may be spartan, the singing is stupendous. Jennifer Wilson, standing in on short notice as Turandot, gives a big, but absolutely balanced portrayal of the tortured princess…As she begins to sing in Act II, many of her notes reside in the vocal solar system. Some divas subscribe to the “it doesn’t have to be pretty, just loud” philosophy but Wilson delivers the declamatory without decimating the listener.”
- Houston Voice, May 2004
ConnecticutOpera - Turandot
“Sunday's cast paired soprano Jennifer Wilson and tenor Jose Luis Duval as the Princess Turandot and her mysterious suitor, Calaf, both artists making their Connecticut Opera debuts. It was Wilson 's first performance as Turandot, her first principal professional role in fact, and an unquestionable triumph. Her commanding voice, ringing true and vibrant from a warm, supple mid-range more than equal to Puccini's dense orchestra aloft to blooming high Bs and Cs, promises many more such triumphs to come.”
-Hartford Union-News, October 2002
“In the stellar role we have the soprano Jennifer Wilson, who not only makes her debut in this opera, but sings for the first time a leading role and not to mention the title role. She comes from the Washington D.C. area, following the steps of the great soprano Alessandra Marc, with similar trajectory. She posses a powerful dramatic voice, and one can tell she wants to triumph. With time and more experience in the theater, surely she will go far.”
-La Voz Hispana de Connecticut, November 2002