Singer

We look forward to seeing you in November for this exciting program, featuring the TDSF-commissioned World Premiere of a new song cycle entitled Bartleby, based on Herman Melville’s enigmatic short story, by lauded American composer Gregory Spears.

EPSG:4326

Tucson Desert Song Festival: Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano with pianist Christopher Cano

University of Arizona

In conversation with Jennifer Johnson Cano & Christopher Cano

George Frideric Handel’s Messiah was an instant classic soon after its 1742 premiere and has been a holiday tradition around the world ever since. Through a dramatic series of arias, recitatives, and choruses, Handel offers a musical meditation on Christ’s birth, life, and resurrection—and his message of redemption. Jane Glover leads the SF Symphony and Chorus in this perennial favorite.

Handel’s Messiah

Davies Symphony Hall

The Apollo Orchestra with principal Conductor David Chan welcomes Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano and Nicholas Huff, tenor, as we present Mahler’s great vocal work Das Lied von der Erde.

Song of the Earth

Montgomery College Catherine F. Scott Commons

Pergolesi’s sacred masterpiece, the Stabat Mater, is filled with gorgeous, spine-tingling music that explores the nature of grief, hope and healing. These emotions also course through Barber’s sublime Adagio for Strings and Carlos Simon’s Fate Now Conquers, a high-spirited tribute to Beethoven. CSO Piccolo Jennifer Gunn solos as the mercurial protagonist in Thea Musgrave’s Piccolo Play.

Piccolo Play & Adagio for Strings

Chicago Symphony Orchestra

In the shadowed corridors of a country estate, a young governess finds herself destabilized by mystery. As disturbing events occur, she grapples with increasing paranoia that plunges audiences into a realm of psychological suspense. This is an operatic ghost story for the ages.

The Turn of the Screw

The Santa Fe Opera

Adapted from the Oscar Wilde play of the same name, Salome has been thrilling and shocking audiences since its premiere in 1905. And it's easy to see why: a biblical story complete with a lecherous king, a willful princess, and an unyielding prophet is bound to get attention. Add in a power struggle, a dangerous obsession, and a dance that scandalizes audiences to this day, all set to Strauss's iconic music, and you're in for a wild and gripping performance.

Salome

Seattle Center

Two of today’s leading dramatic tenors—Michael Fabiano and Brian Jagde—take on the tour-de-force title role of what many consider the ultimate Italian opera, Verdi’s monumental Shakespearean tragedy. Beloved sopranos Angel Blue and Ailyn Pérez make their company role debuts as the long-suffering Desdemona, alongside baritones Amartuvshin Enkhbat and Artur Ruciński as the sinister Iago. Daniele Rustioni and Michele Mariotti lead the full forces of the Met Orchestra and Chorus in the exhilarating score.

Otello

Lincoln Center

Jennifer Johnson Cano’s portrayal of Michele in the recent premiere of The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera earned her accolades from The New York Times, which noted how she “voluptuously captured” the pain and strength of her character; Opera Today called Ms. Cano’s arias in The Righteous “flawless combinations of radiant, poised, attractive singing invested with heartfelt delivery.”

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano, with Beth Guterman Chu, viola, and Christopher Cano, piano

560 Music Center

One of Richard Strauss’s grandest and most gorgeous operas receives a fully staged performance as part of the 2027 Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival. A symbolic tale of love, redemption, and compassion, the half-human Empress sets out on a desperate quest to gain a shadow or face a terrible fate. Conducted by Music Director Franz Welser-Möst and featuring an international cast of singers, this is an operatic event not to miss.

Mezzo-soprano

Jennifer Johnson Cano

Events

Upcoming events

17 - 31 Oct, 2026

Salome · Seattle Opera

Jan 11 - May 1, 2027

Otello · The Metropolitan Opera

Mar 7, 2027

Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano, with Beth Guterman Chu, viola, and Christopher Cano, piano · Washington University in St. Louis Department of Music

16 - 22 May, 2027

Die Frau ohne Schatten · The Cleveland Orchestra

Past events

Apr 7, 2026

Tucson Desert Song Festival: Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano with pianist Christopher Cano · University of Arizona School of Music

Apr 6, 2026

In conversation with Jennifer Johnson Cano & Christopher Cano · University of Arizona School of Music

Future and recently performed repertoire

Emilia in Otello by Verdi

The Metropolitan Opera

Singer in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Strauss

The Cleveland Orchestra

Singer in Das Lied von der Erde by Mahler

Apollo Orchestra

Herodias in Salome by Strauss

Seattle Opera

Singer in Seven Early Songs by Berg

Washington University in St. Louis Department of Music

Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw by Britten

Santa Fe Opera

Singer in Messiah by Handel

San Francisco Symphony

Singer in 5 Antike Oden by Reutter

Washington University in St. Louis Department of Music

About

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