Janine Hawley, mezzo-soprano
American mezzo-soprano Janine Hawley has achieved accolades for her critically acclaimed performances of roles ranging from Carmen to Cherubino in opera houses throughout the United States. She has worked with the Washington Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, New Orleans Opera, New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Utah Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera, Connecticut Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Sacramento Opera, Chautauqua Opera, receiving great critiques that praise her lush quality, dark timbre, technical facility and charming stage presence. Concert performances are an equally important aspect of Ms. Hawley's art and conductors are drawn to her impressive musicianship, mastery of styles and sensitive interpretations. She has worked with the famed Detroit Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Omaha Symphony, and in such concert venues as Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, and Weill Recital Hall. Ms. Hawley made her international debut with the Jerusalem International Symphony singing Mahler’s famed Second Symphony in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Distinguishing herself in the repertoire of Mahler, in the last few seasons she added the Kindertotenlieder and Rückert Lieder to her symphonic work, which includes Mahler’s Third Symphony with the Chautauqua Symphony (NY) and Louisville Orchestra. Her Carnegie Hall debut was as soloist in Vivaldi's Gloria, and she returned to sing Handel’s Messiah, both with John Rutter conducting. Other recent appearances have included Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Respighi's Laud to the Nativity and Il Tramonto, Falla's El Amor Brujo, Handel's Belshazzar, Bach's Magnificat, the Mozart and Duruflè Requiems, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis.
Ms. Hawley was born in Nebraska, is a graduate of Indiana and Columbia Universities and lives in North Carolina where she is an adjunct faculty member at both the North Carolina School of the Arts and Greensboro College.
Ms. Hawley returns to the Festival in 2009 to perform the Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, the Arianna A Naxos Motet and Seven Popular Spanish Songs by Manual de Falla. Her previous Festival performances include excerpts from Gluck's Orpheus and Euridice in 1995, Berg's Seven Early Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Piano, and The Sunset Poemetto Lirico for Mezzo-Soprano & Strings by Resphigi in 1999.