Jill Gardner | review

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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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…

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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…

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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…

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La Fanciulla del West, Virginia Opera; Photo by Ben Scholl Photography, courtesy of VO

Review: Faith, Hope, and Jealousy in the Wild West

Posted by Julie in News, Review, Team Gardner, Virginia Opera

Virginia Opera’s production of La Fanciulla del West Review by Tim Smith “THE EMOTIONS FUELING THE PLOT of La Fanciulla del West—unfulfilled sensual needs, homesickness, sense of duty and community, those old favorites of faith, hope and jealousy—were all given serious, sincere attention in a Virginia Opera production that reaffirmed, as admirers of Puccini’s brilliant work have long maintained, it deserves much more prominence in the canon. Aided at every moment by Adam Greene’s refined lighting, there was no shortage of good old-fashioned atmosphere from the scenery (John Conklin) and costumes (Constance Hoffman), originally designed for the Glimmerglass Festival. The director of that earlier production, Lillian Groag, brought her incisive touch to this staging as…

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Jill Gardner in The Girl of the Golden West

Review: “Girls” brings Wild West to Virginia

Posted by Julie in News, Review, Virginia Opera

“Soprano Jill Gardner was a brilliant Minnie. Her voice is a powerful instrument that, combined with her natural ability to act brought the pistol-packing, Bible reading, never-been-kissed character with a heart as good as gold to vivid life. Her’s is one of the strongest, most solid soprano sounds to grace the VOA roster. One can only imagine the dramatic heights of her acclaimed Tosca.” Read John Sheldon’s full review in The Virginia Gazette…

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Review: “La Fanciulla Del West”—A Triumphant Interpretation

Posted by Julie in News, Review, Team Gardner, Virginia Opera

“Minnie was sung by Jill Gardner, in a Virginia Opera mainstage debut. Her voice is powerful and well-produced, even if still lacking that Tebaldian focus. Gardner’s is a real verismo voice, making it sound easy, and acting every moment. It is understandable that her bio contains raves for her Tosca. She has been through nearly all the Puccini heroines, though not yet Turandot, but I can’t imagine what will stop her. Her Liù is already on the books, and if there’s a soprano today who could work both sides of the Gong, she’s it.” Read David Wagner’s review in it’s entirety on Opera Wire’s website…

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Review: Puccini’s “Girl of the Golden West” Shines with Winning Hand

Posted by Julie in News, Team Gardner, Virginia Opera

“…Midway through the first act, Minnie, played by Jill Gardner, is the pistol-packing saloon owner who makes a dramatic entrance, taking command of an all-out barroom brawl, skillfully choreographed by Erik Gaden. Gardner takes command of the production as well, and never lets go. Her singing has great emotional range, impressive clarity and flawless dynamic control. Her acting, however, is what stands out the most. In a nuanced performance, Gardner evokes both hesitancy and assuredness, vulnerability and strength, as well as worldly innocence, maternal protectiveness and fierce resolve. In addition to the music of Puccini, she is one of the aces in this production…” Read Andy Garrigue’s review in it’s entirety…

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Team Gardner in “Happy Birthday, Wanda June”

Posted by Julie in Indianapolis Opera, News, Review

Team Gardner, perform in Indianapolis Opera’s premiere of HAPPY BIRTHDAY WANDA JUNE: “The cast knew what they had to do, and seemed fully invested in the show both dramatically and vocally. Jake Gardner maintained stunning bravado with the right hints of vulnerability as Harold Ryan.” “A crucial aspect of the action comes from the world beyond, a heaven that clearly was also beyond Vonnegut’s capacity for belief. It’s a paradise of bland pleasures flecked with the occasional harmless disaster, such as the tornado that the third Mrs. Ryan (given a fine tipsy lilt by Jill Gardner) tells us about.” Read the full review at Jay Harvey Upstage…

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A Dazzling Production of Macbeth by Chautauqua Opera

Posted by Julie in Chautauqua Opera, News

“Jill Gardner, in her Chautauqua debut, gave a strong performance…Her acting was generous and her entry from the rear of the auditorium during her sleepwalking scene — holding a lamp — was an apt means of heightening what little pity we can feel for this ruthless figure.” An excerpt from a review appearing in The Chautauquan Daily, written by Arthur Kaptainis. Read the full review here… Photography by Joshua Boucher.

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How does one define an important artist?

Posted by Julie in Music Academy of North Carolina, News, VOIX des ARTS

“What too many of today’s singers seemingly fail to grasp is that, in service to the Art of Song, neither a beautiful voice nor an inquisitive spirit on its own can sustain a recital. The voice and the curiosity must work in tandem to discover new ways of guiding audiences along the scenic highways of musical adventure. This was evident in every moment of the expertly-accompanied, faultlessly-sung, and inventively-interpreted performances in this recital. How, then, might one define an important artist? Simply cite Jill Gardner as a model.” —Joseph Newsome, Voix des Arts Read the full review here. Highlights from Jill’s Performance Photography by Jacqui van Lier of JVL Studios. Many thanks Jacqui!

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