Jane Eaglen

Jane Eaglen (born April 4, 1960) is an English dramatic soprano particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Wagner and the title roles in Bellini's "Norma" and Puccini's "Turandot".

Background

Jane Eaglen was born April 4, 1960 in Lincoln, England, in the North Midlands. It was a neighbor who first spotted Jane's musical interest, and she started piano lessons at the age of five, continuing until she was sixteen. Her piano teacher then suggested she take singing lessons, and for a year she studied with a local teacher. "One day you will sing Norma and Brünnhilde", her teacher told her to which Jane asked "Are they good?" "Yeah, yeah," her teacher replied, "they're pretty good". Eaglen confesses she didn't know anything about opera back then. She just knew her voice sounded like a choirboy's - sweet and pure - and that the sound wasn't suited to pop music.

After having been turned down by the Guildhall School in London, Jane auditioned at age eighteen for Joseph Ward, the voice professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Ward recognized her potential, and took Ms. Eaglen on as a student. Within weeks Ward had directed her toward the roles such as Norma and Brünnhilde. "He spotted four or five notes in the middle of my voice that sounded like something," Eaglen recalls. "He believed that I'd sing the opera of Bellini and Wagner eventually, so we might as well start finding a way to make my voice travel by beginning to learn the music and the styles. We worked on bits from Bellini and Wagner from the time I was 18. But it was only the bits I could sing - lines from 'Casta Diva' from "Norma" or Sieglinde's music from "Die Walküre", but without the high notes" Said Ward, "It's better to learn the style of what you will sing, even if you don't have the notes".

In 1984 she joined the English National Opera, and spent a couple of years singing the First Lady in Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" and Berta, the servant in Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia". Other roles included Leonora in Verdi's "Il Trovatore". When she was cast as Santuzza in Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana", audiences went wild.

Eaglen broke into the major opera scene when she was cast as Donna Anna in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" at the Scottish Opera. She went on to sing "Tosca" and "Norma" with that company. She made her American debut as Norma in 1994 with Seattle Opera as a last-minute replacement for Carol Vaness.

Eaglen sang her first Brünnhilde with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1996. Her first Isolde came in 1998 with the Seattle Opera, a company she has returns to consistently. She repeated the role in 1999 in Chicago and in 2000 at the Metropolitan Opera.

Life work

Eaglen has played the contrasting roles of Isolde (for the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Gran Teatro del Liceu (Barcelona), Lyric Opera of Chicago, and in Puerto Rico), Leonore, and Brünnhilde (performed in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Milan, New York and the UK).

Other major performances include Bellini's "Norma" (performed for the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Ravenna Festival with Maestro Muti, and the Bastille); Ariadne for Seattle Opera and in London; Senta ("Der Fliegende Holländer") in concert with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; Ortrud ("Lohengrin") for Seattle Opera; "La Gioconda" in Chicago and London; Donna Anna in New York, Vienna, Los Angeles, Munich and Bologna; and many others.

Her work on the concert platform includes performances of Strauss’ "Four Last Songs" with Daniel Barenboim and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Strauss’ final scene of "Salome" with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic, and Sir Richard Hickox and the London Symphony Orchestra; Wagner’s "Immolation Scene" with both Bernard Haitink and Jeffrey Tate and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Zubin Mehta and the NY Phil; Verdi’s "Requiem" with Daniele Gatti and the Orchestra of St Cecilia, Rome; Mahler’s "Eighth Symphony" with Klaus Tennstedt; "Nabucco" with Riccardo Muti for the Ravenna Festival; "Gurrelieder" with Claudio Abbado for the Salzburg and Edinburgh Festivals; "Die Walkure" and "Siegfried" with James Conlon in Cologne; and many others.

Eaglen's many solo albums include arias by Wagner and Bellini, arias by Strauss and Mozart, Strauss’ "Four Last Songs" and other song cycles, and Italian Opera Arias. Her recording of Wagner’s "Tannhäuser" with Daniel Barenboim for Teldec earned a Grammy for 'Best Complete Opera'. She may also be heard in Mahler’s "Eighth Symphony" with Chailly for Decca; in Beethoven’s "Ninth Symphony" with Abbado for Sony; as Tosca for Chandos; as Norma with Muti for EMI, and in the title role of Opera Rara’s recently re-released "Medea in Corinto". In addition, Eaglen is featured on Sony’s soundtrack for the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s "Sense and Sensibility".

Her 2007 season included Isolde in "Tristan und Isolde" in Spain; Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" at Vancouver; Senta in "Der Fliegende Holländer" in the U.S.; "Tosca" in Japan; "Ariadne auf Naxos" in Hungary; and Brünnhilde in "Die Walküre" in Norway. She will appear in concert in Washington, D.C., Montreal, Italy, Budapest, Seattle, Prague, Barcelona, the UK, and other venues worldwide. Struggles with her weight have kept her off the Met stage under the new management.

While continuing to perform, Eaglen has increased her educational and pedagological endeavors. She was named an honorary Doctor of Musical Arts in 2005 from [http://www.mcgill.ca/ McGill University, Montreal.] She teaches as an artist in residence at the [http://www.music.washington.edu/home University of Washington School of Music] and is on the artistic faculty of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program. In conjunction with her performance travel, Ms. Eaglen works with artist programs such as the Merola Opera Program and the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, and frequently teaches master classes.

Audio and Video Recordings

Primary Recordings

* Jane Eaglen: Italian Opera Arias (2001)
* Jane Eaglen: Four Last Songs (2000)
* Jane Eaglen: Mozart & Strauss (1998)
* Jane Eaglen: Bellini & Wagner (1996)

Ensemble Recordings

* Wagner: "Götterdämmerung" (2006-Haitink)
* Mahler: Complete Symphonies (2005-Chailly)
* Beethoven: "Symphony 9" (2004-Abbado)
* Pasatieri: "Letter to Warsaw" (2004-Schwarz)
* Puccini: "Turandot" (2002-Parry)
* Wagner: "Der fliegende Holländer" (2002-Barenboim)
* Wagner: "Tannhäuser" (2002-Barenboim)
* Verdi: "Aida" (2001-Parry)
* Bellini: "Norma" (1999-Muti)
* Bruckner: "Messe No.3" and "Te Deum" (1997-Welser-Most)
* Puccini: "Tosca" (1996-Parry)
* Schulhoff: "Flammen" (1996)
* Bellini: "Norma" (1995-Muti)
* Mayr: "Medea in Corinto" (1994-Parry)
* Wagner: "Götterdämmerung" (1991-Haitink)

Compiled Recordings

* Escape Through Opera (2001)
* Great Arias & Ensembles Vol 2 (2001)
* Sony Classical - Great Performances 1903-1998 (1999)
* Great Arias & Ensembles (1999)
* Opera Rara Collection (1998)
* "Lost Empires" Sdtk (1995)
* "Sense and Sensibility" Sdtk (1995)
* Jane Eaglen - Wagner (1995)

DVD Video

* Wagner: "Tristan und Isolde" (2004-Levine)
* Last Night Of The Proms 2000 (2002)

ources

* [http://www.seattleopera.org/bios/index.aspx?name=jane_eaglen Bio at Seattle Opera]

External links

* [http://www.janeeaglen.com/ Eaglen's official website]
* [http://www.music.washington.edu/faculty/faculty_bio.php?ID=93 University of Washington School of Music, Faculty Biography]
* [http://www.seattleopera.com Seattle Opera]
* [http://sfopera.com/merola.asp/ Merola Program]
* [http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/ciav/ Cardiff International Academy of Voice]