Artist of the Week: Jacquelyn Wagner

American Soprano Makes Her Debut as ‘Norma’ at Martina Franca

By Francisco Salazar

This week the Festival Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca is set to open a new production of Bellini’s “Norma” which will be performed in Roger Parker’s Ricordi edition. The version will see two sopranos in the opera, which is close to what Bellini originally intended. Among the artists enlisted for this production is Jacquelyn Wagner.

Wagner will make her house debut as well as her role debut. Known for her work in Puccini, Verdi, Mozart, and Händel as well as the German repertoire of composers Wagner and Strauss, Wagner will tackle what some consider one of the most difficult operas in the repertoire, “Norma.” OperaWire has described the soprano’s voice as “lyric” and a “voice gently weaving through the phrases.” Those are important qualities for what will be one of the soprano’s biggest challenges in her career.

For those not in Martina Franca, audiences can check the soprano’s “Salome” in the fall at the Staatsoper Hannover. She is also set to perform in Amsterdam and Bordeaux next season.

Recordings 

For those interested in exploring Wagner’s repertoire check out recordings of “Arabella” from the Dutch National Opera and “Euryanthe” from the Theater an der Wien.

Here she is performing from “Arabella” and “Arabella.”

 

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