Jill Gardner
as Mimì

Jill Gardner, soprano

Soprano Jill Gardner is emerging as one of today’s young singing actresses of exceptional promise. Noted for her “effortlessly produced, rich voice” (Opera News), the Syracuse Post-Standard recently stated of her performance in The Merry Widow that “Jill Gardner’s Hanna, the title character, stood head and shoulders above all the rest. She is a powerhouse yet often touching soprano, who moves as if she is floating and acts with more nuance than most opera singers.”

Ms. Gardner recently made her debut with Mercury Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni to great acclaim. In the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Stuart Low praised her “lustrous soprano and impressive acting chops.” In the 2007-08 season, Ms. Gardner makes several company debuts including Florida Grand Opera in the role of Musetta in La Bohème and Boston Lyric Opera as Mimì in La Bohème, a role which she was recently called last-minute to cover at Lyric Opera of Chicago and where she will be making her debut the following season. In the summer of 2008 she will debut with Hawaii Opera Theatre as Countess Charlotte Malcolm in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

In 2006-07, Ms. Gardner returned to Glimmerglass Opera as a principal artist to perform Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld. She also performed the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow with the Syracuse Opera, the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with the New York Opera Projects, Mimi in La Bohème with the Piedmont Opera Theatre, and appeared as soloist in concerts with Opera Omaha.

In the summer of 2006, Ms. Gardner returned to the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist Program to create the role of Madame Loiseau in the world premiere of The Greater Good or The Passion of Boule de Suif (recorded for the Naxos record label). As a member of that program in the summer of 2005, she sang the role of the English Lady in Benjamin Britten’s Death in Venice, directed by Tazewell Thompson and conducted by Stewart Robertson. While at Glimmerglass Opera, Ms. Gardner added the role of Elle in Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and also added the title role of Jenufa to her repertoire through cover assignments. In addition, she has presented a recital of works by Francis Poulenc, Andre Previn, and William Bolcom with pianist Valerie Trujillo in Cooperstown, NY.

A native of North Carolina, Ms. Gardner has appeared with the Greensboro Ballet in a concert version of Menotti’s The Medium, the Ocean City Pops in concert of operetta arias, and Binghamton’s Tri-Cities Opera in leading roles of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Violetta in La Traviata, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, as well as touring with TCO’s educational outreach program in productions of Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. Ms. Gardner also added the roles of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Geraldine in Samuel Barber’s A Hand of Bridge with A Singing Actor’s Studio in Binghamton, New York. Ms. Gardner participated in Studio Lirico, an opera apprenticeship in Cortona, Italy, where she sang the role of Madama Erlecca in Cimarosa’s opera Li Sposi per Accidenti.

Ms. Gardner has appeared in concert with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Susquehanna Valley Chorale, Binghamton’s Downtown Singers, Hamilton College and Community Chorale, and the Mostly Mozart Club of North Carolina in such repertoire as Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Verdi’s Requiem, Vaughan Williams’ Hodie and A Sea Symphony, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and Missa Solemnis, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah.

In 2002 Ms. Gardner was the recipient of a Special Opportunity Award from the New York Foundation of the Arts for her continuing vocal studies. Other awards include an Emerging Artist Grant from the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Division of the North Carolina Arts Council, the Richard F. Gold Career Grant of the Shoshana Foundation-NYC, as well as being a District and Regional Winner in the 1996 Southeast Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Atlanta. In February 2004 Ms. Gardner participated in the Public Masterclass on Puccini Style for the George London Foundation with Catherine Malfitano. Ms. Gardner received a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Centenary College of Louisiana.

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