| Biography | Jennifer Johnston is an English operatic mezzo-soprano. Born in Liverpool, she studied law at University of Cambridge and worked as a barrister while studying opera at the Royal College of Music (RCM). After graduating from the RCM, she became a member of the National Opera Studio through the sponsorship of Opera North. In 2005 she was awarded a Wingate Scholarship and a Susan Chilcott Scholarship, and that same year won 2nd Prize in the Montserrat Caballé International Singing Competition.
Johnston made her professional debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in the summer of 2006 as Dido in Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Later that year she was heard at the Salzburg Festival as Carmi in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La Betulia Liberata; a performance which was recorded and released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon. She has since been highly active with the Scottish Opera where her performance credits have included Hansel in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Irene in George Friederich Handel's Tamerlano, Mercedes in Georges Bizet's Carmen, and Suzuki in Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly. She has also appeared as a guest artist at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Opéra de Lille, the Tower of London Festival, and the Teatro Real. Johnston is the founding mezzo-soprano member of The Prince Consort, a classical vocal-piano ensemble that has performed world-premieres and recorded works by Stephen Hough and Ned Rorem. |