Jayne West
Encyclopedia
Jayne West is an American opera
tic soprano
, who was born in White Plains, New York
, and was raised in Framingham, Massachusetts
. After graduation from Oberlin College
, she moved to Boston, where she studied at the Boston Conservatory
.
West has appeared with the Austin Lyric Opera (Pamina in Die Zauberflöte), Berkshire Opera Company (Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
, and Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress
), Boston Baroque (Acis and Galatea), Boston Landmarks Orchestra
(Beethoven's Ninth Symphony), Houston Grand Opera
, Nashville Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Opera/Omaha (world premiere of Weisgall's The Gardens of Adonis), Opera Quotannis
, and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. She was also in the 1985 world-premiere of the Glass/Moran The Juniper Tree
.
West also sang in the Mark Morris
Dance Group's productions of L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato, Dido and Æneas, and Four Saints in Three Acts
. The soprano has been heard with the orchestras of Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Seattle, Utah and Washington DC; and has sung at the festivals of Bethlehem Bach, Saito Kinen, San Antonio and Tanglewood.
She portrayed Contessa Almaviva in Peter Sellars
' production of Le nozze di Figaro, which was seen in Barcelona, Boston, New York, Paris and Vienna. It was made into a film (1989), as well. West also sings in Robert Craft
's important recording of The Rake's Progress (with Jon Garrison
, 1993). She can be heard in two excerpts from Handel's Hercules (1999), on the recording entitled "Lorraine at Emmanuel," opposite Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
, which was published in 2008, and is a soloist in Craig Smith's recording of Bach's "St John Passion" (with Frank Kelley
as the Evangelist, 1999). In 2009, a "live" recording of the premiere of The Juniper Tree was released on Compact Disc.
The soprano also sang cameo roles in two historic recordings, the original version of Cherubini's Médée (as A Lady of Dircé, 1987) and Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride (as the Second Priestess and the goddess Diane, 1999).
In 2009, West appeared with the Boston Secession in the world-premiere performance of Ruth Lomon
's Testimony of Witnesses, a concert-length oratorio based on the poetry and writings of survivors and victims of the Holocaust, under the direction of Jane Ring Frank
.
As of 2011, the soprano lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts
, and is on the voice faculty at the Longy School of Music
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, who was born in White Plains, New York
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
, and was raised in Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham, Massachusetts
Framingham is a New England town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 68,318 as of the United States 2010 Census. -History:...
. After graduation from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, she moved to Boston, where she studied at the Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory
The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...
.
West has appeared with the Austin Lyric Opera (Pamina in Die Zauberflöte), Berkshire Opera Company (Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, and Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress
The Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
), Boston Baroque (Acis and Galatea), Boston Landmarks Orchestra
Boston Landmarks Orchestra
The Boston Landmarks Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.- History :The Boston Landmarks Orchestra was founded in January 2001 by Charles Ansbacher to perform free concerts for the Boston community in significant locations around the city...
(Beethoven's Ninth Symphony), Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, Nashville Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Opera/Omaha (world premiere of Weisgall's The Gardens of Adonis), Opera Quotannis
Opera Quotannis
Opera Quotannis was a New York-based opera company which was founded in 1990, with conductor Bart Folse as Music Director and stage director Brian Morgan serving as Artistic Director...
, and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. She was also in the 1985 world-premiere of the Glass/Moran The Juniper Tree
The Juniper Tree
The Juniper Tree is a 1990 Icelandic film with a small cast of five actors, Björk, Bryndis Petra Bragadóttir, Guðrún S. Gísladóttir, Valdimar Örn Flygenring and introducing Geirlaug Sunna Þormar...
.
West also sang in the Mark Morris
Mark Morris
Mark William Morris is an American dancer, choreographer and director whose work is acclaimed for its craftsmanship, ingenuity, humor, and at times eclectic musical accompaniments...
Dance Group's productions of L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato, Dido and Æneas, and Four Saints in Three Acts
Four Saints in Three Acts
Four Saints in Three Acts is an opera by American composer Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein. Written in 1927-8, it contains about 20 saints, and is in at least four acts...
. The soprano has been heard with the orchestras of Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Seattle, Utah and Washington DC; and has sung at the festivals of Bethlehem Bach, Saito Kinen, San Antonio and Tanglewood.
She portrayed Contessa Almaviva in Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
' production of Le nozze di Figaro, which was seen in Barcelona, Boston, New York, Paris and Vienna. It was made into a film (1989), as well. West also sings in Robert Craft
Robert Craft
Robert Lawson Craft is an American conductor and writer. He is best known for his intimate working friendship with Igor Stravinsky, a relationship which resulted in a number of recordings and books.-Life:...
's important recording of The Rake's Progress (with Jon Garrison
Jon Garrison
Jon Garrison is a successful American operatic tenor who has been performing in locations around the world since 1965. He first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 1974, in a secondary role in the company premiere of Death in Venice, which featured Sir Peter Pears...
, 1993). She can be heard in two excerpts from Handel's Hercules (1999), on the recording entitled "Lorraine at Emmanuel," opposite Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was an American mezzo-soprano, known for the dramatic power of her vocal artistry as well as her commitment to performing infrequently-heard Baroque era and contemporary works...
, which was published in 2008, and is a soloist in Craig Smith's recording of Bach's "St John Passion" (with Frank Kelley
Frank Kelley (tenor)
Frank Kelley is an American tenor, who has performed in concert and in opera throughout North America and Europe. He holds music degrees from Florida State University and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music...
as the Evangelist, 1999). In 2009, a "live" recording of the premiere of The Juniper Tree was released on Compact Disc.
The soprano also sang cameo roles in two historic recordings, the original version of Cherubini's Médée (as A Lady of Dircé, 1987) and Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride (as the Second Priestess and the goddess Diane, 1999).
In 2009, West appeared with the Boston Secession in the world-premiere performance of Ruth Lomon
Ruth Lomon
A native of Montreal, Canada, Ruth Lomon attended le Conservatoire de Quebec and McGill University. She continued her studies with Francis Judd Cooke at the New England Conservatory of Music and later with Witold Lutosławski at Dartington College in England.Since 1998, Ms...
's Testimony of Witnesses, a concert-length oratorio based on the poetry and writings of survivors and victims of the Holocaust, under the direction of Jane Ring Frank
Jane Ring Frank
Jane Ring Frank is a female American Choral Conductor who leads music publisher E. G. Schirmer's Philovox Recording Chorus along with Boston Secession the professional chorus she founded.-Personal life:...
.
As of 2011, the soprano lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury, Massachusetts
Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Though it officially became a city in 1996, its formal name remains "The Town of Amesbury." In 1890, 9798 people lived in Amesbury; in 1900, 9473; in 1910, 9894; in 1920, 10,036; and in 1940, 10,862. The population was 16,283 at...
, and is on the voice faculty at the Longy School of Music
Longy School of Music
The Longy School of Music of Bard College is a conservatory located near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and Boston...
.
External links
- Official website
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iApcWG743Xw&feature=related YouTube: Jayne West in an excerpt from The Rake's Progress (1993, audio only).