Smith, Jennifer
Smith, Jennifer
Smith, Jennifer , English soprano; b. Lisbon, July 13, 1945. Following training at the Lisbon Cons., she pursued vocal studies with Winifred Radford in London, Pierre Bernac in London and Paris, and Hans Keller in London. In 1966 she made her operatic debut as Carissimi’s Jeptha in Lisbon, and then sang in other European cities and in England. In 1979 she appeared as Mozart’s Countess at the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff. She portrayed Alphise in the first stage performance of Rameau’s Les Boréades in Aix-en-Provence in 1982. In 1988 she sang Cybele in the first U.S. performance of Lully’s Atys in N.Y. She appeared as the Queen of the Night in London in 1989. In 1992 she was engaged as Iphigénie in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride at the English Bach Festival at London’s Covent Garden. In 1995 she sang Elettra in Lisbon. Her concert engagements took her to major European music centers. Among her other important portrayals were roles in operas by Marais, Mondonville, and Purcell.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire