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…
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…
“Donizetti’s “Daughter of the Regiment” is a lighthearted entertainment featuring spectacular vocal displays held together by a slender plot. …The most striking was a nonsinging role — quite unusual for opera — by Jill Gardner as the Duchess of Crackentorp, with her flamboyantly feathered headdress and operatic shrieks. At one point, the Duchess launches into singing one of Jill Gardner’s acclaimed roles (“Tosca”) and Hortensius has to correct her, “Wrong opera!” Read the complete review by Ruth Bingham on the Star-Advertiser website…
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…
“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…
“Around the middle of Act I, Jill Gardner’s Minnie, the pistol-packing saloon owner, makes her entrance, completely shutting down an all too classic bar fight. The choreography by Erik Gaden makes every punch visceral. Gardner wins the audience’s heart early, and keeps it the whole show. Her singing touches every emotion, and she hits notes on both sides of the scale. Her acting, however, is what really makes the show. Gardner truly becomes Minnie. The audience feels her loneliness, her vulnerability, and most of all, her heart. We get to know her as a mother figure to the miners, as their (literal) teacher, and their protector.” Read Matthew Sporn’s review in…
Master Teacher Series Event! Free and open to the public! Tuesday – October 10, 2017 – 7 PM at the Dominion Arts Center, 600 E. Grace St, Richmond, VA 23219. Experience the preparation process for Virginia Opera’s Herndon Foundation Emerging Artists as they advance their professional dream with our Master Teacher series. Jill Bowen Gardner & Jake Gardner who will be starring in our production of Puccini’s ‘The Girl of the Golden West’ will provide instruction and advice to the young singers. Enjoy light refreshments with the artists following the presentation. To reserve a space, call 866.673.7282 https://vaopera.org/events/master-teacher-series/
To play Tosca, soprano Jill Gardner had to learn how to hate her husband. “Jill Gardner has flown in from her native North Carolina to perform the titular lead in this weekend’s production of Tosca by Opera Coeur d’Alene. Over the span of 12 productions and somewhere north of 50 performances across the country, it has become her signature role. But it’s only the fifth production in which the soprano has performed opposite her real-life husband, Jake. And he’s not playing Cavaradossi. “I often say that, during that rehearsal process, we work a lot of shit out,” she says, chuckling…” Continue this article by E.J. Iannelli on the Inlander website…
Get your tickets now for Opera Coeur d’Alene’s production of TOSCA, Puccini’s moving and memorable opera. The dramatic force of Tosca and its characters continues to fascinate both performers and audiences, and the work remains one of the most frequently performed operas. Featured Cast: Tosca: Jill Gardner https://jillbowengardner.com/ Scarpia: Jake Gardner http://bassbaritonejakegardner.com/ Cavaradossi: Roger Honeywell https://imgartists.com/roster/roger-honeywell/ Sacristan: Valerian Ruminski https://www.valerianruminskibass.com/ For tickets, visit Opera CDA’s website…