The Company

We Value Artistic Integrity, Musical Excellence, Collaboration, Community Engagement & Inclusion

Our Mission

Chicago Fringe Opera is dedicated to presenting innovative vocal works with an emphasis on new and contemporary styles, engaging with the Chicago community through intimate and immersive performance experiences, and fostering and empowering local artists.

Our Vision: Chicago Fringe Opera is at the forefront of producing dynamic contemporary vocal works in the city of Chicago.

Laura Smalley

Executive Director

Laura Smalley is a producer, actor, and singer in the Chicago area. She has worked in arts administration with many prominent arts organizations, including Des Moines Metro Opera, Stage 773, The Lyric Opera Chicago, and Chicago Opera Theater. She is also an alumna of the 2018 Hart Institute for Women Opera Administrators, a professional development program at The Dallas Opera.

Laura’s recent performing credits include A Christmas Carol (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre), How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Hunchback of Notre Dame (Music Theater Works), Big Entrance (Forte Chicago), Love Wounds (Chicago Fringe Opera), Grant Park Music Festival, Merrie England (Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company), Pirates of Penzance (The Savoyaires), Pascagoula: A Folk Opera (Singing River Productions), Old Maid and the Thief (MOE), and Sorry/Grateful (Slotted Spoon Initiative).

Her cabaret performances include Sleep/Creep/Leap and Reunion: A Night of Sondheim. She is a founding member of the vintage vocal trio The Peppermint Patties, with recent shows including Won’t You Be My Galentine? (2020), Home for the Holidays (2020), and Holiday Cabaret (2021).

She holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from DePaul School of Music.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Two Remain	Executive Producer	2022
The Heroes Project – The Widow’s Will	Executive Producer	2021
A City of Works	Executive Producer	2021
Corsair	Executive Producer	2020
Love Wounds	Echo Cover; "I WIll Learn to Love a Person" Soloist Cover	2019
Dynamic Donuts: A Fundraiser for Love Wounds	Soloist	2019
Fringe at the Taproom	Soloist	2018

Catherine O'Shaughnessy

Creative Director & Conductor

Catherine O’Shaughnessy is a rising orchestral and opera conductor in the United States and abroad. Her performances have earned rave reviews from the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Classical Review (“great skill, alertness and sensitivity”), and Vocal Arts Chicago (“resourcefulness…scrappiness and…fierce concentration”). Avidly committed to Chicago’s dynamic musical scene, she is currently the music director of Chicago Fringe Opera, and Principal Conductor of the 5^th Wave Collective. In 2020, she proudly helped produce Fringe’s contribution to the Decameron Opera Coalition’s Tales From a Safe Distance—winner of the “Best Collaboration” award from 360° of Opera—which makes innovative use of technology to reimagine this art for challenging new circumstances.

A semi-finalist in the 2016 Spazio Musica International Conducting Competition, Catherine made her New York debut conducting Antonio Salieri’s La Cifra with the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble. She has also music directed Pyramus and Thisbe in Freiberg (Mittelsächsisches Theater) and conducted Don Giovanni and La Traviata in Orvieto (Teatro Mancinelli). In 2013 she conducted the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra at a sold-out performance in Tchaikovsky Hall, and in 2017 she guest-conducted the Piccadilly Symphony Orchestra (Manchester, UK). Catherine holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestral and opera conducting from Arizona State University, where she was a student of William Reber and Timothy Russell.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Two Remain	Music Director	2022
Woyzeck	Music Director	2019
Love Wounds	Music Director	2019
The Long Christmas Dinner	Music Director	2019
The Great God Pan	Music Director	2018
Lucrezia	Music Director	2017
Song from the Uproar	Conductor	2016
In the Penal Colony	Conductor	2016

George Cederquist

Producing Artistic Director

George is the Producing Artistic Director of Chicago Fringe Opera (called “the city’s alt-opera company” by the Chicago Tribune), which produces experiential, immersive, and site-specific productions of operas composed in English. At CFO, George has directed Woyzeck, The Rosina Project, The Long Christmas Dinner, The Great God Pan (world premiere), Lucrezia, In the Penal Colony, The Turn of the Screw, Trouble in Tahiti and The Rape of Lucretia. Camera opera filmwork includes Corsair, The Widow’s Will, and A City of Works.

In addition, George has directed opera scenes at Wolf Trap Opera and Chautauqua Opera, and new productions with the Chicago Sinfonietta, Pittsburgh Opera, the Bay View Music Festival, Chicago Folks Operetta, and Chicago Opera Vanguard. An enthusiastic mentor, George is the Producing Artistic Director of Opera and Theatre at North Park University, and has taught acting, auditioning and scene study at Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, and DePaul University.

Now in its seventh season, George hosts Opera Box Score, America’s Talk Radio Show About Opera, heard every Monday night on WNUR 89.3 FM Chicago and wherever you get your podcasts. The show tackles the week’s opera headlines and discusses them in a sports talk radio format.

A recipient of the 2015 American Prize in Directing, George’s production of Silent Night was chosen as a winner of Opera America’s 2013 Director-Designer competition. As one of ten Americans to receive the 2011-12 German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, George served as a Regieassistent at the Staatstheater Darmstadt.

George’s training includes the Resident Artist Stage Director program at Pittsburgh Opera, serving as the Apprentice Stage Director at the Merola Opera Program, and as the Directing Fellow at Wolf Trap Opera. He holds an MFA in Directing from Northwestern University and a BA in Theatre Studies and English from Yale University. A dual US-UK citizen, George is a proud ensemble member of Steep Theatre Company (Chicago) and the American Guild of Musical Artists.

He lives with his wife, their two children, their cat, and their four chickens, in Chicago.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

The Heroes Project – The Widow’s Will	Director	2021
A City of Works	Artistic Director	2021
Corsair	Creative Director	2020
The Rosina Project Fall 2021 (NOITP)	Concept & Stage Direction	2021
Arts in the Dark	Director	2019
Woyzeck	Director	2019
The Rosina Project	Director	2019
The Long Christmas Dinner	Director	2019
The Rossini Project	Director	2018
The Great God Pan	Director	2018
Lucrezia	Director	2017
In the Penal Colony	Director	2016
The Turn of the Screw	Director	2015
Voices in the Dark, Jazz & Trouble in Tahiti	Director	2015
The Rape of Lucretia	Director	2014

Giovanna Jacques

PR & Audience Relations Director, Mezzo Soprano

Mezzo-soprano Giovanna Manilla Jacques is a founding member of Chicago Fringe Opera, serves as Secretary on the CFO Board and is also the PR Director. Though she was born and spent her childhood in San Francisco, she spent her formative years in the South of France where she studied at the Conservatoire National de Toulon. She moved to Chicago in 2009 to complete her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the DePaul School of Music. She graduated with her Master in Education with a focus in Higher Ed Leadership in 2021, also from DePaul. She served as Assistant Director of Admissions for the DePaul School of Music from 2017-2022, and is currently the Assistant Director of Admissions for the Evening & Weekend MBA at the Kellogg School of Management (Northwestern). Though she is no longer an active performer, she is a committed audience member and is thrilled to still be a part of Chicago Fringe Opera!

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Fringe’s Holiday House Party	Soloist	2015
The Turn of the Screw	Mrs. Grose	2015
Chicago Fringe Opera’s Lakeside Soiree	Soloist	2015
The Rape of Lucretia	Bianca	2014

Jenny Schuler

Marketing, Brand & Web Director, Soprano

Soprano Jenny Schuler has earned praise in recent seasons for her powerful vocalism and compelling stage artistry. She has been hailed as a “sumptuous soprano,” with a voice “rich in nuance” and “a vivid presence on the stage.” Her 2020/2021 season highlights include a debut with Chicago Opera Theater as Isabela in La Hija de Rappaccini (originally Matilde in Catan’s Il Postino), a debut with Opera Festival of Chicago in the role of Giorgetta in Il Tabarro, in addition to her role as a featured artist in the Dante 700 recital series also with Opera Festival of Chicago..

In the 2019/2020 season Ms Schuler made her Oregon Symphony debut as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and returned as Mother in their production of Hänsel und Gretel, in addition to debuting the title role of Tosca with New Jersey Festival Orchestra. Productions canceled due to Covid-19 include Louder, Longer, Wagner! (Valerie/Brünhilde) with Lyric Unlimited, Lyric Opera of Chicago & Second City, and Songs from Letters recital with Chicago Fringe Opera.

Recent season highlights include the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos as a guest artist with Indiana University, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Sugar Creek Opera, Ariadne auf Naxos and Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, both with the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, and Leonore* in the Princeton Festival’s production of Fidelio.

Ms. Schuler was nominated as finalist for the 2019 Richard Tucker Career Grant, she was the second place winner in the 2019 Classical Singer Competition, first place winner of the 2018 Lyra New York International Vocal Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2017 Premier Opera Foundation International Vocal Competition, a semi-finalist in Shreveport Opera’s 2017 Mary Jacobs Smith Competition, a finalist in the 2017 Marcello Giordani International Voice Competition, and first place winner in the 2016 Heafner–Williams Vocal Competition. Ms. Schuler earned her Artist Diploma from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute and her Master of Music from Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Ear Taxi Festival – Spotlight Series Concert: Songs From Letters	Soloist	2020
Dynamic Donuts: A Fundraiser for Love Wounds	Soloist	2019
2016 Holiday House Party	Soloist	2016
Chicago Fringe Opera’s Lakeside Soiree	Soloist	2015
Voices in the Dark, Jazz & Trouble in Tahiti	Girl, Jazz Trio	2015
2014 Christmas Celebration	Soloist	2014
The Rape of Lucretia	Female Chorus	2014

Bridget Skaggs

Vocal Arts Associate, Mezzo Soprano

Mezzo-soprano Bridget Skaggs has swiftly gained the attention of Chicago audiences as “a compelling force” with an “agile, expressive voice” (Chicago Classical Review) equally at home in opera, art song, and oratorio. Critics have noted the way she “lights up the scene” (Chicago Reader) in performances with Chicago Fringe Opera, where she debuted the role of Austin in the world-premiere production of Rossa Crean’s The Great God Pan in 2018, and sang Christopher Cerrone’s Naomi Songs with “warm and plaintive mezzo” (Chicago Classical Review) as part of Love Wounds, a multi-disciplinary exploration of the composer’s works, in 2019.

Bridget is increasingly recognized for her excellence in the musical and movement styles of Baroque repertoire, having performed Giunone in Cavalli’s La Didone with Haymarket Summer Opera Program in 2018, Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina with Chicago Vocal Arts Consortium in 2019, and performed numerous Bach cantatas as a Festival Artist at the Baroque on Beaver Island Festival (MI) in summers 2014 and 2015.

Nationally, Bridget has appeared as the Fox in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen with Opera Steamboat, and Charlotte in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where she served as Young Artist. Internationally, she has toured Bruckner’s Te Deum as alto soloist with Blue Lake International Symphony. Her vast concert and oratorio repertoire includes the Ravel Shéhérezade, Duruflé Requiem, Vivaldi Gloria, Handel Messiah, and Bach Magnificat.

A passionate advocate for art song, Skaggs is a founding member of vocal chamber quartet Fourth Coast Ensemble, and was recently named Vocal Arts Associate for Chicago Fringe Opera. She has twice been awarded the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago’s vocal chamber fellowship. This season she records music by composer Lori Laitman, and has recorded the American premiere of Paul Abraham’s 1932 jazz operetta Ball at the Savoy for future release. A native of Southlake, Texas, Bridget received her education at Oklahoma City University’s Wanda L. Bass School of Music, and resides in Chicago.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Two Remain	Zosia	2022
Ear Taxi Festival – Spotlight Series Concert: Songs From Letters	Soloist	2020
Love Wounds	Soloist (Naomi Songs)	2019
The Great God Pan	Austin	2018

Jonathan Zeng

Community Engagement Coordinator, Tenor

Lauded for his versatility as a performer and accomplished in Musical Theater, Opera, Oratorio and Concert repertoire, critically acclaimed tenor, Jonathan Zeng, has performed throughout the United States with companies such as Cincinnati Opera, Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Memphis, Utah Festival Opera, and the Princeton Festival. With a voice described by Chicago publications as “valiant”, “stunning”, “vibrant”, and “rich”, Jonathan is based in Chicago and has appeared as soloist with The William Ferris Chorale in the American premiere of John Joubert’s Five Songs of Incarnation and Bonaventura Somma’s Missa Pro Defunctis. You may also have seen him singing with the Grant Park Symphony Chorus, in Johnny Johnson or The Csardas Princess with Chicago Folks Operetta, or performing in Chicago Fringe Opera productions The Long Christmas Dinner, Trouble In Tahiti, Turn of the Screw, and Song From the Uproar. Roles elsewhere range from Goro in Madama Butterfly & Beppe in I Pagliacci to Prince Charming in Cinderella, Chip Tolentino in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance. An avid proponent for arts education and vocal instruction, Jonathan has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Preparatory Department at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and has maintained a private voice studio for more than a decade. Jonathan received a BA in Music Education from the School of Music at Western IL University and an MM in vocal performance from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM). Jonathan also writes and records his own music.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Sounds of Pride 2020	Soloist	2020
Sounds of Pride	Soloist	2019
Love Wounds	Narcissus	2019
Dynamic Donuts: A Fundraiser for Love Wounds	Soloist	2019
The Long Christmas Dinner	Charles	2018
Fringe at the Taproom	Soloist	2018
The Great God Pan	Clarke and Meyrick Cover	2018
Song from the Uproar	Ensemble	2016
The Turn of the Screw	Miles	2015
Chicago Fringe Opera’s Lakeside Soiree	Soloist	2015
Voices in the Dark, Jazz & Trouble in Tahiti	Tenor, Jazz Trio	2015

Board Members

Matthew Godfrey

President

Sarah Geocaris

Board Member

Joshua Taylor

Board Member

Lara Yang

Board Member

Artistic Ally

Matthan Ring Black

Baritone
(Artistic Ally)

Matthan Ring Black, baritone, holds a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance from Wichita State University and a Professional Diploma from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where he spent two years as a Young Artist with Chicago Opera Theater. Matthan has recently performed the roles of Don Alvaro and Dandini in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims and La Cenerentola, Huy/The Doctor in the Chicago premiere of Daron Hagen’s Amelia at CCPA and Roderick Usher in a new realization of Debussy’s unfinished La Chute de Maison de Usher.

Matthan is also committed to classical vocal music in recital and concert. He recently performed in song recitals honoring the 50th anniversary of the death of Francis Poulenc and selections from La Traviata and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to celebrate the birthdays of Verdi and Britten. Matthan is also passionate about the preservation of art song in English through nontraditional performances of songs from composers such as John Adams, Ernst Bacon, Leonard Bernstein, Jake Heggie, and Lee Hoiby.

Matthan recently made his main stage debut with Chicago Opera Theatre as Vagabond #2 in Carl Orff’s Die Kluge and will be featured as an Apprentice Artist with Opera Southwest this October. Matthan will be also performing the role of Tarquinius in Candid Concert Opera’s The Rape of Lucretia in November. Other performances include Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Sid (Albert Herring), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), L’horloge Comtoise (L’enfant et les sortileges), Henry Davis (Street Scene), and The Lord High Chancellor (Iolanthe).

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Lucrezia	Chucho	2017
In the Penal Colony	The Officer	2016
Fringe’s Holiday House Party	Soloist	2015
Chicago Fringe Opera’s Lakeside Soiree	Soloist	2015
2014 Christmas Celebration	Soloist	2014
The Rape of Lucretia	Tarquinius	2014

Katherine Bruton

Soprano
(Artistic Ally)

Soprano Katherine Bruton’s clear voice and vibrant characterization bring opera and art song to life. Her nuanced musicality and virtuosic vocal fireworks have earned her the roles of Miss Silverpeal/The Impresario, Mabel/The Pirates of Penzance, Le feu (The Fire)/L’enfant et les sortileges (The Child and the Spells), and Virtù (Virtue)/L’incoronazione di Poppea (The Coronation of Poppea), among others. She has also appeared with Pasadena Opera, the critically-acclaimed Pacific Opera Project, and OperaUCLA, among others.

An advocate of new opera, Ms. Bruton has been a part of several operatic premieres. Recently, Ms. Bruton has performed in the Chicago premieres of contemporary one-act operas as Darling Donnis/The Final Battle for Love by Philip Thompson, Sang Kancil the Mouse Deer/The Mouse Deer and the Crocodile by Hong-Da Chin, and Wing Tip/The Rootabaga Stories by Yvonne Freckmann with Thompson Street Opera Company. She also had the privilege of creating the role of “La Saborini” in the world premiere of The Dove and The Nightingale by American composer Roger Bourland. Upcoming performances include the world premiere of Ross Crean’s opera Lost Daughters as The Queen of the Night with Another Voice Collaborative in partnership with Resonanz Opera and future engagements with Thompson Street Opera Company.

Ms. Bruton also has a passion for art song, especially new art song. She has given premieres of several art songs and art song cycles, including Littles by Michelle Isaac and Personal Weather by Pin Hsing Lin. While at SongFest in Los Angeles, CA, Ms. Bruton had the privilege of working with fabulous collaborative pianists Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, and Kathleen Tagg. She has also performed in concert with American composer John Musto. Her passion for art song also extends to Russian art song, which she has performed consistently since Russian baritone Vladimir Chernov introduced her to the language and repertoire during her undergraduate studies at UCLA.

Ms. Bruton is pursuing her Masters of Music degree from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, where she studies with soprano Judith Haddon. She also received bachelors’ degrees in vocal performance and music education from UCLA, where she studied with Vladimir Chernov. She is a proud OperaWorks alumna and has also attended Songfest in Los Angeles, CA and the Summer in Payerbach Opera Intensive in Austria.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

The Great God Pan

Helen and Mary Cover

2018

Julia Elise Hardin

Mezzo-Soprano
(Artistic Ally)

Julia Elise Hardin, a native of Lawrence, KS, has been touted as a “powerful” and “expressive” singer drawing from her extensive acting background. She is a founding company ensemble member of Chicago Fringe Opera, and was previously Co-Company Manager and Manager of Finance (2014-2015).

As a singer, Ms. Hardin has performed principal and featured roles as a coloratura mezzo-soprano with Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Opera in the Neighborhoods, Chicago Opera Theater, the Castleton Festival (founded by the late Maestro Lorin Maazel), Florentine Opera, Central City Opera, the Fondazione Lirico in Bari, Italy, and more. Orchestral engagements have included regional performances with the Milwaukee Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Rockford and Ft. Wayne Symphonies. Ms. Hardin garners accolades and awards from foundations such as NATSAA, Neue Stimmen, Chicago Union League, Bel Canto Foundation and the Friends of Austria. Julia performs regularly with Chicago groups Music of the Baroque, Aestas Consort and William Ferris Chorale. In 2011, she joined in celebrating the Grammy wins of Florentine Opera’s recording of Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry from the Naxos label, on which she is featured as Mrs. Baines.

In addition to her Executive Directorship with Chicago Fringe Opera, Hardin has worked the head of Development and Engagement and Fest Manager for Twickenham Fest, a chamber music festival located in Huntsville, AL.

Beginning with a career primarily based in theater and acting, Julia Elise Hardin followed with strict vocal training at Northwestern University. She continues study with Julia Faulkner. Hardin holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and a master’s from Northwestern University. She currently resides in Chicago with her husband.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Voices in the Dark, Jazz & Trouble in Tahiti	Dinah	2015
Far Off Light	Soloist	2015

Jacquelyn Kress

Mezzo-Soprano
(Artistic Ally)

Jacquelyn Kress, mezzo-soprano, is a recent graduate of the Opera Institute at Boston University. With the OI, Ms. Kress was seen as Annio (La Clemenza di Tito), Kate (Owen Wingrave), Jean (Le Portrait de Manon), Mother Marie (Dialogues of the Carmelites), and Fidalma (Il Matrimonio Segreto). She has also performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s outreach program as Tisbe in La Cenerentola. Other performances include Hansel and Gretel (Hansel), La vie parisienne (Métella), The Pirates of Penzance (Ruth),Trouble in Tahiti (Dinah), L’enfant et les sortileges (L’écureuil/La chatte), The Mikado (Katisha), Roméo et Juliette (Stephano), Cosi fan tutte (Dorabella). She has also been on the international stage: Salzburg, Austria as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and Périgueux, France as the title role in Offenbach’s La Périchole. Ms. Kress has a BM from the University of Illinois, and a MM from Roosevelt University.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

As One	Hannah Before (cover)	2017
Fringe’s Holiday House Party	Soloist	2015
Chicago Fringe Opera’s Lakeside Soiree	Soloist	2015
2014 Christmas Celebration	Soloist	2014

Brad Caleb Lee

Production Designer
(Artistic Ally)

Brad Caleb Lee is a UK based visual dramaturge. With CFO he designed Lucrezia, The Long Christmas Dinner, Woyzeck, Corsair and co-conceived A City of Works. Other collaborators include East Riding Theatre, Opera’r Ddraig, Summer Theatre of New Cannon, Richard Burton Theatre Company, Elan Frontoio, Welsh National Opera, Opera Sonic, Music Theatre Wales, Prague Shakespeare Company, Theatre Tuscaloosa, Hell in a Handbag, and Filament Theatre.

Brad curated and designed YOUR VOICE!, an immersive community-driven exhibition reopening the Wales Millennium Centre, was the Curatorial Producer of Prague Quadrennial 2019, was featured in World Stage Design 2017, and co-designed the award-winning British pavilion, MAKE/BELIEVE for PQ2015 / Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Brad is the founding editor of Ascending and has previously edited other publications on theatre design. He holds an MA from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and both a BA and a BS of Commerce from The University of Alabama.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Two Remain	Production Designer	2022
A City of Works	Co-concept / Designer	2021
Corsair	Production Designer	2020
Woyzeck	Production Designer	2019
The Long Christmas Dinner	Set Designer	2019
Lucrezia	Production Designer	2017
Song from the Uproar	Assistant Director & Stage Manager	2016

Jessie Lyons

Soprano
(Artistic Ally)

Lyric soprano Jessie Lyons is one of the most promising performers of opera’s new generation. The Iowa native has been enthusiastically received by audiences in numerous productions in Italy and throughout the United States.

Jessie has been described as “an amazingly talented young lyric soprano [with] a unique voice that is strong and warm throughout her range,” and her “poise and natural stage presence put her at the top of the list among her current peers.”
(Matthew Chellis, international performing artist).

Of one performance, Stage West Des Moines director Paul Dieke said, “Jessie has an exciting voice, brilliant and powerful, with secure, well-developed high tones. She was musically accurate and approached her roles with sensitivity and expressiveness. Dramatically, she was superb. Her anger/fight scene was mesmerizing.”

Jessie has performed numerous roles with various opera companies. Among her finest achievements to date are her performances of Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème, La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with La Musica Lirica in Italy. She has also performed as Alice Ford in Otto Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring at Luther College, and Mimi in American Chamber Opera’s production of La bohème. In addition, she has sung with the Taos Opera Institute in Taos, New Mexico. Following that, Jessie performed with the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera in their 40th anniversary season, singing in Puccini’s La Rondine and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and scenes from Britten’s Turn of the Screw, Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, Mozart’s Cosí Fan Tutte, and Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.

Jessie holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Luther College and a Master’s Degree from Roosevelt University’s “Chicago College of Performing Arts.” After finishing her Master’s Degree, Jessie spent a summer in New York City participating in the Manhattan School of Music Summer Festival.

Most recently, Jessie took part in Madison Opera’s 2013-14 resident artist program in Madison, Wisconsin, where she covered the title role in Puccini’s Tosca and sang Sister Catherine (and covered Sister Rose) in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking.

Productions with Chicago Fringe Opera

Fringe at the Taproom	Soloist	2018
The Long Christmas Dinner	Lucia/Lucia II	2018
2016-17 Season Opening Gala	Soloist	2016
Fringe’s Holiday House Party	Soloist	2015
The Turn of the Screw	Miss Jessel*	2015