Described as possessing a "characterful and beautifully knit mezzo” (Opera News) and "winning" stage presence (The New York Times), Jennifer Panara, mezzo-soprano begins her sixth season as a member of the Soloist Ensemble at Theater St. Gallen, Switzerland, where the current season's roles will include Princess Clarice (The Love for Three Oranges), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus). She opens the season with several concerts of diverse repertoire including W.A. Mozart's Great Mass in C-Minor, Bizet's Carmen Suite Nr. 1, and de Falla's El amor brujo.

 

Recent seasons' engagements have included Hélene Allatini in Tobias Picker & Aryeh Stollman's Lili Elbe (which won Best World Premiere at the 2024 Oper! Awards), Hedwige (Guillaume Tell), Paula (Florencia en el Amazonas), Giovanna (Ernani), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Jeannette (L'amant anonyme), Lisette Soer (The Time of Our Singing), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Sesto Pompeo (Giulio Cesare), Siébel (Faust), Oreste (La belle Hélène), Dodo McNeill (Breaking the Waves), and Flora Bervoix (La traviata). In February 2022 Jennifer debuted with Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln in a live recital broadcast with the E-Mex Ensemble entitled "Make America schräg again!" featuring works by Florence Price, Ruth Crawford-Seeger, and Moondog, among others. In the 2020/2021 Season, she was scheduled to make her role debut as Maria Rainer in the Swiss premiere of The Sound of Music, as well as her debut in the Kölner Philharmonie with Gürzenich-Orchester Köln in 2020 performing alongside tenor Rolando Villazón, both of which were cancelled due to COVID-19. 

 

Prior to her engagement with Theater St. Gallen, Jennifer was a member the Soloist Ensemble of Staatstheater Mainz, where she performed the leading role (Infantin Isabella) in the staged German premiere of Paul Abraham’s Märchen im Grand-Hotel, as well as Princess Clarice in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges and Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. 2017/2018 Season engagements included her debut with Theater Hagen as the Fox in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, which received critical acclaim describing her “naturally and authentically produced” and “beautifully colored mezzo voice [which] made the love duet with the Vixen a highlight” (Online Musik Mazazin; Theater Pur). As the Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul with Opera Saratoga, her performance also garnered praise for its “exquisite shading and subtlety” (La Scena Musicale).

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Other notable company and role debuts include Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) with North Carolina Opera, Mae (Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath) with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Third Dryad (Rusalka) with Minnesota Opera, Siébel (Faust) with Annapolis Opera, and Handel’s Messiah with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

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Jennifer’s awards include the Donald & Luke Graham Memorial Award from The Santa Fe Opera, Second Prize at Brava! Opera Theater’s 2016 National Vocal Competition, and Second Prize at Opera at Florham’s 2017 Vocal Competition. Additionally, she was a 2016 Quarterfinalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia: The World Opera Competition, held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

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Jennifer has participated in young artist programs with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, The Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Saratoga. A native of Medford, New Jersey, Jennifer holds an Artist Diploma in Opera from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, as well as degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music.