Jessica Pratt

Full Biography

Hailed by the New York Times as a soprano of “gleaming sound, free and easy high notes, agile coloratura runs and lyrical grace,” Jessica Pratt is considered one of today’s foremost interpreters of some of bel canto’s most challenging repertoire.

Since her European debut in 2007 as Lucia di Lammermoor Ms. Pratt’s schedule has included performances at opera theatres and festivals such as the Metropolitan Opera New York, Teatro alla Scala of Milan, Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona, Zurich Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Vienna State Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, working with conductors such as Daniel Oren, Nello Santi, Kent Nagano, Sir Colin Davis, Giacomo Sagripanti, Gianandrea Noseda, Carlo Rizzi, Roberto Abbado, Wayne Marshall and Christian Thielemann.

Jessica Pratt kicks off the 2022/23 season as Elvira in I Puritani at ABAO Bilbao Opera, the role that also brings her to Théâtre des Champs-Elysée in Paris later in the season for a concert performance of I Puritani. The Australian soprano appears as Amina in new productions of Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula at Teatro Real in Madrid as well as Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège. At Oper Frankfurt Jessica performs the title role in a new production of Francesca da Rimini and has her first recital in Frankfurt, along with the pianist Vincenzo Scalera. She performs her signature role of Lucia di Lammermoor at Ópera de las Palmas and closes the season in her homeland by singing the four female roles in Les Contes d’Hoffmann as well as Mad Scenes in concert at Opera Australia.

Recent engagements include Jessica’s role debut as Zerbinetta in the 1916 version of Ariadne auf Naxos for the Festival del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, her return to Teatro di San Carlo in Naples for the role of Lucia Ashton in Marina Abramović/Marko Nikodijević’s production of 7 deaths of Maria Callas, as well as Lucia di Lammermoor and La Sonnambula, Cinderella at the Metropolitan Opera, Delirio concerts in Paris and Palermo, the four female roles of Les Contes d’Hoffmann in Bremen, Bordeaux, Bilbao and Las Palmas and a solo recital at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Jessica has a repertoire of over 38 different roles of which the most popular is Lucia Ashton from Gaetano Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor which she has performed in over 32 productions followed by Amina from Vincenzo Bellini’s La Sonnambula and Elvira from I Puritani by the same composer. She also specialises in Rossini repertoire, being a frequent guest of the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Jessica has so far taken to the stage in 12 Rossinian roles including the title roles of Semiramide, Armida, Adelaide di Borgogna, most recently Desdemona in Otello at the Gran Teatre de Liceu Barcelona and Rosina in Barbiere di Siviglia in Arena di Verona.

Another composer with whom Jessica is particularity suited is Gaetano Donizetti. Jessica made her debut at La Scala with La Prima Donna in Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali and later returned to perform in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor. She recently added five new Donizetti titles to her repertoire; La Fille du Regiment with Opera Las Palmas, Don Pasquale with ABAO in Bilbao, L’elisir d’amore with the Gran Theatre Liceu in Barcelona and the title role of Rosmonda d’Ingliterra in concert form for Opera di Firenze and then staged and filmed for a DVD with the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo where she was invited to return in 2018 as artist in residence, performing in a gala concert and in the title role of Elisabetta in Castello di Kenilworth.

Her discography includes CD recordings of Rossini’s Otello, Vaccai’s La sposa di Messina, Donizetti’s Rosmonda d’Inghilterra, Il Castello di Kenilworth, Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco and she is featured on “Belcanto Bully” by Naxos.  DVD/Blu-Ray recordings include Giovanna d’Arco from the Festival Valle d’Itria, Adelaide di Borgogna, Ciro in Babilonia and Aureliano in Palmira from the Rossini Opera Festival, the 2012 “New Year’s Gala Concert” and Bellini’s La sonnambula from Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Donizetti’s Rosmonda d’Inghilterra and Il Castello di Kenilworth from the Festival Donizetti of Bergamo and Le Convenienze ed Inconvenienze Teatrali from Teatro alla Scala in Milan. In 2016 her first solo album “Serenade” was released by Opus Arte. Upcoming releases include a DVD of Ronconi’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, conducted by Roberto Abbado and an album of belcanto madscenes Delirio with the Florence Opera, Chorus and Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the direction of Maestro Riccardo Frizza.

© CSAM, August 2022