Jill Gardner | News
Official website for American opera singer soprano Jill Gardner, including biography, engagements calendar, acclaim, repertoire, recordings, photo galleries, press kit, and contact information.
Jill Gardner, soprano, American, opera, tosca, puccini, lyric, singer, actor, singing actor, Jill Garner, Jill Gardener
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Jill Gardner

Obituary for Harry Jay (Jake) Gardner

Posted by Julie in News, Team Gardner

Harry Jay (Jake) Gardner November 15, 1947 – November 2, 2021 Harry Jay Gardner, known by all as “Jake,” age 73, died unexpectedly at home on November 2, 2021 at 6:15pm from a heart attack after a 6-month private battle with brain cancer. Jake was born in Oneonta, NY on November 15, 1947. After growing up in Earlville and Johnson City, NY, Jake discovered his passion and talent for singing in Binghamton, NY with The Tri-Cities Opera (TCO), studying with long-time mentors, Peyton Hibbitt and Carmen Savoca. Boasting a 50-year career of performances with major opera companies and orchestras worldwide, bass-baritone Jake Gardner often referred to himself as a journeyman and…

What drives Eugene Opera director and conductor Andrew Bisantz

Posted by Julie in Eugene Opera, Interview, News

“It doesn’t take much to get Eugene Opera artistic director and conductor Andrew Bisantz pumped up, particularly if he’s talking about the Eugene Opera’s coming performances of “Tosca.” …I’m first of all very excited about our leading lady, Jill Gardner. Jill has performed with us before; she was Tatiana in “Eugene Onegin” in 2016. She was wonderful in that, but Tosca is really her role. It will be our third time doing it together. We have a special communication, musically and dramatically. We have a terrific cast, and our production will be directed by our good friend and frequent Eugene Opera director David Lefkowich. David and I first did “Tosca” together…

HIGH NOTES with Jill & Jake Gardner, with Andrew Bisantz

Posted by Julie in News, Tabor Opera House, Team Gardner

Tabor Opera House is pleased to announce the upcoming performance of HIGH NOTES: AN EVENING WITH OPERA STARS JILL & JAKE GARDNER, WITH ANDREW BISANTZ. Friday, July 5, 2019 7:30 PM 9:30 PM The Tabor Opera House Second of the four High Notes shows, our new Curated Series! Find details and a link to purchase tickets to this stellar event at the Tabor Opera House website…

Singers with Binghamton roots return for Wagner’s Ring Cycle

Posted by Julie in Binghamton Philharmonic, News, Team Gardner

When Jill and Jake Gardner step onto the stage of the Broome County Forum Theatre to sing the epic work of Richard Wagner, it will mark a homecoming. The husband-and-wife duo will each be featured as soloists alongside the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in One Night. The couple lived in Binghamton for a decade but is now based in Kernersville, North Carolina, where they work as freelance artists and travel across the country to perform. “Jake and I are very happy to be returning to Binghamton,” Jill said in a recent phone interview. “We consider Binghamton our second home.”  Read the full article at Press Connects…

For GSO Opera, ‘Madama Butterfly’ a tragic story of love and heartbreak

Posted by Julie in Greensboro Opera, News

As acclaimed singers and a creative team prepare for Greensboro Opera’s production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” they grapple with heartache onstage and off. Through staging and song, they will tell the tragic story of a young Japanese woman’s love for an American naval officer, and the anguish that results. David Holley, general and artistic director of the nonprofit opera company, has brought in a stellar, professional cast. Sopranos Jill Gardner and Katie Horn-Pershall. Baritones David Pershall and Ryan Hill. Tenors Cody Austin and Jacob Ryan Wright. Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Foley Davis. Bass baritone Donald Hartmann. An 18-member chorus. “I cannot wait to present this wonderful, glorious opera to the Greensboro public,” Holley…

Review: Virginia Opera‘s Street Scene—A Triumph

Posted by Julie in News, Review, Virginia Opera

“But Street Scene rests on the performance of four big voices. Number one is Mrs. Maurrant. Virginia Opera is blessed by the return of Jill Gardner to essay this very difficult role. She won the day last season as Minnie in The Girl of the Golden West. This time she has a more difficult challenge: to make an adulterous wife sympathetic. And she does. “Somehow I Never Could Believe” is a bear of an aria, but Ms. Gardner creates such a strong bond with her audience that it allows her to lead them along to wherever she chooses. She alone is a reason to see this production.” Read the complete review…

News Flash: La Fanciulla del West with MDLO this Saturday!

Posted by Julie in Maryland Lyric Opera, News

JUST ANNOUNCED: On Saturday, September 15, 2018, Jill Gardner will sing the role of Minnie in La Fanciulla del West with Maryland Lyric Opera.  “Very excited to be traveling north from Hurricane Florence to jump in and sing Minnie for Maryland Lyric Opera’s Saturday night performance of Puccini’s fabulous opera “La Fanciulla del West” at 7:30pm. If you can make it, I would love to sing for YOU! Stay safe everyone in the days ahead!” —Jill Gardner Tickets available on the MDLO website.

Review: Greensboro Opera and EMF ‘What I Did for Love’

Posted by Julie in Eastern Music Festival, Greensboro Opera, News, Review

“A sellout crowd filled two dozen round tables tastefully arranged around a platform in the middle of Temple Emanuel for a recital of arias and ensembles drawn from the world of operas and musicals. David Holley, the general and artistic director of the Greensboro Opera and master of many trades, not only introduced the evening but produced the show and even sang the tenor part in three of the ensemble numbers. Familiar opera stars—soprano Jill Gardner, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Foley Davis and baritone Kyle Guglielmo—joined Holley in presenting some of opera lovers’ favorite pieces, all accompanied by the excellent pianist, Ben Blozan, a faculty member at High Point University and the pianist…

Opera Tampa wraps up season with a brooding, richly sung ‘Macbeth’

Posted by Julie in News, Opera Tampa, Review

Mark Rucker and Jill Gardner play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Opera Tampa’s Macbeth, at the Straz Center on April 13 and 15, 2018. Photo courtesy of the Straz Center. “The make-or-break factor in this show are the two leads, Mark Rucker and Jill Gardner, who fortunately fall squarely onto the “make” side of the ledger. Baritone Rucker has enjoyed a long career. His vibrato might not be quite as taut as it was 20 years ago, but it’s very close. To that richness and power he adds a fullness to the character not often seen in opera. Gardner has created a Lady Macbeth who exudes strength and commitment, then vulnerability…