About this Artist

A naturally gifted singer noted for her commanding stage presence and profound artistry, Jennifer Johnson Cano has garnered critical acclaim for committed performances of both new and standard repertoire. For her performance as Offred in Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale she was lauded as a “consummate actress,” by The Wall Street Journal; a “tour de force” by The Boston Globe; and “towering…restless, powerful, profound, she is as formidable as this astonishingly demanding role deserves” by The New York Times. In recital with Anna Netrebko at Carnegie Hall, Bachtrack called her performance “self-effacing and full of musicality.” With more than 100 performances on the stage at The Metropolitan Opera, her most recent roles have included Nicklausse, Emilia, Hansel, and Meg Page.

Following engagements at Bravo! Vail with the New York Philharmonic, Ravinia Festival with Matthew Polenzani, and Cleveland Orchestra’s Blossom Music Festival, Ms. Cano ends her summer with the LA Phil for performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl. She begins her 2019/20 season with Michael Tilson Thomas at San Francisco Symphony’s Opening Night Gala. Additional orchestral highlights include Berg’s Lulu, singing the role of Countess Geschwitz with the Cleveland Orchestra, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony. In recital, she appears at Da Camera of Houston for a performance of Argento’s From the Diary of Virginia Woolf and joins pianist Benjamin Hochman and friends for Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared at New York’s 92nd Street Y. After widespread acclaim last season for her portrayal of Offred in Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale with the Boston Lyric Opera, Ms. Cano bows this season as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma with Pittsburgh Opera, the Composer in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos with Arizona Opera, and as the title role of Bizet’s Carmen with New Orleans Opera.