Jessica Hemley

American soprano Jessica Hemley is heralded for her discerning musicianship and dramatic and vocal versatility.  She recently relocated to Great Britain from Princeton, New Jersey, where she performed regularly throughout the Tristate area.  She has appeared frequently in Opera New Jersey’s mainstage productions and in several Emerging Artist concerts.  An ardent advocate of new music, Ms. Hemley was also honoured to work with composer Troy Herion in the International Opera Theater American premier of his setting of Il Racconto d’Inverno.  In addition, she has participated in several international young artist programs, including the Florence Voice Seminar, the International Vocal Institute and, most recently, the Tyrolean Opera Program, where her primary focus was the study and performance of the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor.

In addition to her experience in the United States, Ms. Hemley has sung in concert and opera in the United Kingdom, Italy, Croatia, Austria, and Greece.  Her operatic roles include Gilda in Rigoletto, Musetta in La Bohème, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Elvira in I puritani, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Frasquita in Carmen, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Mme Herz in Der Schauspiel Direktor, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Lady with the Hand Mirror in Postcard from Morocco.  An avid recitalist, she is particularly expert in the interpretation of twentieth-century repertoire.  Ms. Hemley has had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with artists such as Julia Faulkner, Laura Brooks Rice, Benita Valente, and Stephen White.  She has had the opportunity to collaborate with such esteemed coaches and directors as Elizabeth Bachman, Alan Smith, J.J. Penna, and Dalton Baldwin.            

Ms. Hemley earned her Bachelor’s degree in Voice Performance from Westminster Choir College, where she performed the role of Amy in Mark Adamo’s Little Women.  As a member of the Westminster and Symphonic Choirs, she sang under the baton of such renowned conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Charles Dutoit, Lorin Maazel, Sir Colin Davis, Alan Gilbert, and Michael Tilson Thomas, and performed in several opera choruses at Spoleto Festival USA. Ms. Hemley completed her M.M. degree in Vocal Arts at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where she was named Outstanding Graduate of the Vocal Arts Department and Pi Kappa Lambda Graduate of the Year.  While a student at USC, she performed the roles of Juliet in the world premier of the Tomb Scene from Lee Hoiby’s Romeo and Juliet, and of Noémie in the Thornton Opera’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon, both in collaboration with conductor Brent McMunn and director Ken Cazan.

Ms. Hemley is currently performing and teaching in the UK and abroad.