Jennifer Johnson Cano’s portrayal of Michele in the recent premiere of The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera earned her accolades from The New York Times, which noted how she “voluptuously captured” the pain and strength of her character; Musical America called her a “standout” and The Wall Street Journal described her as “riveting.” Opera Today noted her “substantial, creamy mezzo-soprano” and called Ms. Cano’s arias in The Righteous “flawless combinations of radiant, poised, attractive singing invested with heartfelt delivery.” Opera News has described her as a “matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.”
In the summer of 2024, Cano creates the role of Michele in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous with Santa Fe Opera. Her 2024–2025 season highlights include roles in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s concert productions of Wagner’s Ring Cycle under Fabio Luisi; Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Haydn’s Mass in Time of War at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck; Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Handel and Haydn Society in Boston; and holiday performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Cincinnati Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony. She sings the role of Amneris in a concert production of Verdi’s Aida with Arizona Opera and Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
Cano undertakes a balance of orchestral, opera and chamber music performances each season. Recent highlights include performances as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff at Houston Grand Opera; Mozart’s Requiem with The Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo! Vail Music Festival; and Marc Neikrug’s A Song by Mahler with the FLUX Quartet. She has collaborated on numerous projects with The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in both the US and Europe. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic in both New York and Vail; Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck; Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Chicago Symphony and Riccardo Muti; and Atlanta Symphony under Nathalie Stutzman.
Highlights of Cano’s operatic career have included performing the roles of Donna Elvira, Carmen and Offred with Boston Lyric Opera; The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen with The Cleveland Orchestra; the Mother, Dragonfly, and the Squirrel in L'enfant et les sortilèges with the San Francisco Symphony; performances of El Niño with John Adams and the London Symphony Orchestra; Carmen with New Orleans Opera; and Orphée with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She has appeared in more than 100 performances on the stage at The Metropolitan Opera since her debut in the 2009-2010 season. Cano debuted the role of Virginia Woolf in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’s The Hours with The Philadelphia Orchestra about which The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “Every word was clear both in content and intention, and her mezzo-soprano tone was deeply alluring.”
A native of St. Louis, Cano earned degrees from Rice University and Webster University, where she was honored as a distinguished alumna and commencement speaker in May 2017. Her debut recital recording with pianist Christopher Cano, “Unaffected: Live from the Savannah Voice Festival,” was recorded live and unedited. She sings as a soloist on a live recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and in Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She also recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble.
Ms. Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Among her honors are Winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, a Sara Tucker Study Grant, a Richard Tucker Career Grant and a George London Award.
“Dramatic intelligence and imagination suffused every note of Ms. Johnson Cano’s performance. Endowed with an attention-grabbing dark mezzo, its depths bracing like strong coffee, she seems to thrive in the role of a storyteller.” — The New York Times
Photo Credit: Grant Legan