Jennifer France
A previous Emerging Artist at Scottish Opera, British soprano Jennifer France was winner of the 2018 Critics’ Circle Emerging Talent Award.
25/26 saw Jennifer sing Tytania in Peter Hall’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Glyndebourne’s Autumn season. Jennifer also returned to the Royal Opera House, London to sing First Niece in Deborah Warner’s production of Peter Grimes and to Garsington to sing Cecily Cardew in Gerry Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest. On the concert stage, Jennifer joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Ed Gardner conducting Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you, sang Ligeti’s Requiem firstly with Esa Pekka Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris and then at the Berwaldhallen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Jennifer will also celebrate New Year’s concerts with Nil Venditti and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Last season’s highlights included her debut at Opéra National de Paris singing Beatrice in Dusapin’s Il viaggio, Dante conducted by Kent Nagano and her role debut as the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Holland Park. Jennifer also made a return to the London Philharmonic Orchestra singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Edward Gardner, joined Jaime Martin and the Orquesta Nacionales de España for the Spanish premiere of Brett Dean’s In spe contra spe, and returned to the London Sinfonietta singing James MacMillan’s Love Bade Me Welcome.
Previous seasons have seen two returns to the Royal Opera House for Iphis Jephtha conducted by Laurence Cummings and Despina Così fan tutte with Alexander Soddy and a return to Garsington Opera for Andrew Norman’s A Trip to the Moon. On the concert platform, Jennifer sang Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Matthew Halls, Jonathan Dove’s There Was a Child with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Brett Dean’s 2nd Quartet with the Doric String Quartet at the Wigmore Hall, Christmas concerts with the Royal Choral Society at the Royal Albert Hall and New Years Eve gala concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jiří Rožeň.
Other notable performances include Jennifer’s return to the role of Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos for Garsington Opera and Opera North and her role debut as Mary in Jake Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life for English National Opera. Concert highlights feature the Bergen Philharmonic and Sir Mark Elder, the Hallé Orchestra and Matthew Hamilton and the world premiere of Brett Dean’s In This Brief Moment with the CBSO and Nick Collon, and Carmina Burana with the CBSO in Kazuki Yamada’s inaugural concert as Chief Conductor. Summer 2023 saw Jennifer join the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival for Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth and a return to the BBC Proms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Ligeti’s Requiem with Edward Gardner.
Jennifer’s operatic roles include the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen for Opera Holland Park, Alice in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, First Niece Peter Grimes, Lessons in Love and Violence for The Royal Opera House, La Princesse in Philip Glass’ Orphée for ENO, the title role of Semele at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Ophelia in Brett Dean’s Hamlet for Glyndebourne On Tour, Marzelline Fidelio, Susana Nozze and La Princesse Elsbeth Fantasio for Garsington Opera, Le Feu/Le Rossignol L’enfant et les sortilèges in concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Lessons in Love and Violence for Dutch National Opera. Other notable house debuts include Zerbinetta at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and at the Nederlandse Reisopera, where she was nominated for a Schaunard Award and as Beatrice in the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin’s Il viaggio, Dante at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
A prolific concert artist, she has sung Gerald Barry’s The Eternal Recurrence and Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Britten Sinfonia, Elgar Une voix dans le désert with the Hallé, Handel arias with the Academy of Ancient Music, Dixit Dominus at the International Handel Festival Karlsruhe, Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Mozart Requiem with the London Mozart Players. She made her BBC Proms debut in 2017 and Salzburg Festival debut in 2019 singing Pascal Dusapin’s Medeamaterial with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.
Winner of the Song Prize at the 2014 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the 2014 Leonard Ingrams Award from Garsington Opera, her recordings include Barry’s The Eternal Recurrence and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Signum), Lessons in Love and Violence (Nimbus & Opus Arte), Il Vologeso (Signum), Debussy Songs – Vol. 3 & 4 with Malcolm Martineau (Hyperion) and Elgar’s Une voix dans le désert (Hallé).