Biography

The American soprano JENNIFER O’LOUGHLIN recently debuted at The Bavarian State Opera singing Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the Hamburg State Opera where she performed the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, and the Norwegian Opera in Oslo, also singing the Queen of the Night (2011). Ms. O’Loughlin garnered critical praise for her Mozartian style from Der Neue-Merker in Vienna: “She has an exquisitely pure and clear voice that is simply ideal for Mozart” (Renata Wagner).

She also received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Frau Fluth in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Gilda in Rigoletto, as well as her dazzling performance of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, all in Vienna. In 2010, Ms. O’Loughlin made her debut at the Nürnberg State Theater singing Zerbinetta and was the cover for the same role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Ms. O’Loughlin made her Vienna State Opera debut as the Queen of the Night in 2008 and her Salzburg Festival debut in 2007 as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro under the baton of Daniel Harding. She subsequently reprised the role, touring Japan with the Salzburg Festival in 2008 accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. At the Grand Théâtre de Génève, Ms. O’Loughlin was heard as Pamina in a new production of “Die Zauberflöte” in 2007.

In October 2010, Ms. O’Loughlin performed her first solo aria concert in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein to a sold-out audience. During the Salzburg Festival’s Mozart year in 2006, Ms. O’Loughlin was invited to sing for the Festival’s opening ceremony under the direction of Manfred Honeck. Other noteworthy concert engagements include Dvorák’s Requiem with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Brahms’s Requiem at the Vienna Musikverein, Nielsen’s “Sinfonia Espansiva” at the Bregenz Festival, and the American premiere of Zemlinsky’s “Maiblüten blühten überall” under the baton of James Conlon at the Aspen Music Festival. Recently she sang several New Years concerts (2012) with the Tonkünstler Orchestra in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein.

Ms. O’Loughlin earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Ruth Drucker. She continued her vocal studies at the Manhattan School of Music, earning a Master of Music degree while studying with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. The following year she received a Karajan Foundation Grant to attend the Zürich Opera Studio. Ms. O’Loughlin currently studies with Mark Markham.

The recipient of numerous grants and awards, Ms. O’Loughlin won first prize in the Anneliese Rothenberger Competition in Mainau, Germany (2003), was a finalist in the International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Montreal, Canada, (2002) received an Encouragement Award from the George London Foundation (2002), and won the female Grand Prize in the International Poulenc Plus! Competition (1999). Other awards include two nominations for Best Actress by the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera’s Gene Kelly Awards.

On CD, Ms. O’Loughlin can be heard singing the role of Glauce on the album Acide with the Haydn Sinfonietta, available on the BIS label (May 2008) as well as on the recording of Bernstein’s Mass with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, available on the Chandos label (February 2009).

Upcoming engagements for Ms. O’Loughlin are Cunegonde at the Vienna Volksoper in 2012, Modestin in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at the Theatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Zubin Mehta, and the Messenger of Peace in Wagner’s Rienzi at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse (September/October 2012).

Biography also available as a downloadable .pdf file:
Jennifer O’Loughlin Biography 2012