Jennifer Hines - Bertarido

Mezzo-soprano

Lauded by Opera News for her "rich, dark mezzo" and "... a voice so rich and colored that she easily steals any scene in which she appears" (Time Off), mezzo-soprano Jennifer Hines made her Metropolitan Opera debut in December 2003 as Fourth Naked Virgin and Pit Alto soloist in Moses und Aron with Maestro James Levine conducting. Since her debut she has maintained an active relationship with the celebrated company, participating in its Ring Cycle in the 2004-05 season.

Ms. Hines' 2006-07 season engagements include performances of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Opera Grand Rapids and Nashville Opera, and performances of Page in Salome conducted by Leonard Slatkin with the National Symphony Orchestra. She appears as soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Richmond Symphony, and Bach's St. Luke Passion with the Washington Bach Consort. In July she will perform Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Rossen Milanov, at the Bravo! Festival in Vail.

Jennifer Hines' 2005-06 season included her debut with Washington National Opera as Flosshilde in Das Rheingold, performances as the title role in Carmen with the East Texas Opera, performances of Messiah with New Mexico Symphony Orchestra and Mozart's Requiem with the Richmond Symphony. Ms. Hines' 2004-05 season also included the title role in Bizet's Carmen with the New Jersey Philharmonic; Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with New York City Opera and Opera Tampa; her debut with Gotham Chamber Opera singing the role of Carilda in Arianna in Creta directed by Christopher Alden and Ms. Hines' first performances of Handel's Messiah with the New Chorale Society and the Pacific Symphony. She also appeared in concert with the Southeastern Festival of Song in Atlanta. In the summer of 2005, Ms. Hines made her Seattle Opera debut as Flosshilde and Rossweisse in Wagner's Ring Cycle.

In the 2003-04 season Ms. Hines sang Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; Mercedes in Carmen and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte at New York City Opera; and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Dicapo Opera, Opera Longview and the Eastern Music Festival conducted by George Manahan. Ms. Hines was also a featured artist at the Marlboro Music Festival collaborating with esteemed pianists Ken Noda and Mitsuko Uchida. The mezzo-soprano's engagements during the 2002-03 season included Olga in Eugene Onegin with Opera Festival of New Jersey; Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Tokyo, Japan; Mercedes in Carmen with Florentine Opera; and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. Hines has had a long association with the New York City Opera dating from the fall of 1999. She has become an integral part of the company singing roles that include Mercedes in Carmen, the Second and Third Ladies in Die Zauberflöte, Princess Nicolette in The Love for Three Oranges, and the Siren in Rinaldo with Harry Bicket conducting. Other career highlights for Ms. Hines include the American premiere of Phillip Glass' White Raven with the Lincoln Center Festival and appearances with the Aspen Opera Theatre Center as Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream and in the role of Gertie in the American stage premiere of John Caskens's Golem. She has also sung Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Florentine Opera and the title role in Carmen with Longview Opera, Annapolis Opera and West Bay Opera.

The Long Island native holds a both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from The Juilliard School and is a former Apprentice Artist with Santa Fe Opera, Tanglewood Music Center participant, and member of Seattle Opera's Young Artist Program.