Heather Jones is an American singing actress who blends seamless technique with “mischievous freshness and enthusiasm” (Allegri con fuoco) to deliver compelling performances of both classical and contemporary lyric mezzo repertoire. This year, Heather performed with Opera Company of Middlebury in Massenet’s Cendrillon (Dorothée), with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in Francesca Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero (Alcina), and with Amadeus Opera in Alcina (Ruggiero). In the 2019-2020 season, Heather will be the mezzo Emerging Young Artist with Ars Musica Chorale in Ridgewood, NJ, where she will sing the role of Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as well as various solos in choral masterworks throughout the season.
Heather maintains a modern approach toward “classical” music and its accessibility. She recently joined Opera Fayetteville for their Opera in Bloom festival that featured pop-up style performances of free, 10-minute, site-specific operas around Fayetteville, Arkansas. She also appeared with the Albany Symphony in their American Music Festival singing Evan Mack’s feminist song cycle Preach Sister, Preach, a collection of funny and poignant quotes by famous women. Heather traveled to Portland, OR with Mack to perform the West coast premiere of his concert opera, Angel of the Amazon, which tells the true story of Sister Dorothy Stang, who lost her life fighting deforestation in the Amazon Jungle. At home in NYC, Heather debuted Brad Balliet’s performance piece with Sign & Sing ASL titled The Universal Drum, written for two singers, two Deaf actors, and 27-piece percussion to demonstrate the ways that rhythm is the universal language between the hearing and non-hearing worlds. Heather has also been a regular collaborator with New Camerata Opera (Venus & Adonis / Savitri ), dell’Arte Opera Ensemble (Le nozze di Figaro, La liberazione di Ruggiero) and American Lyric Theatre (workshops, scenes from Taking Up Serpents).
Heather has made regional debuts singing some of the most beloved standard repertoire as well, including Cendrillon with Opera Company of Middlebury (Dorothée) The Magic Flute with Opera Louisiane (Second Lady), Le nozze di Figaro with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble (Cherubino), Die Fledermaus (Orlofsky) and Hänsel und Gretel (Hänsel) with Sinfonietta Nova in Princeton, NJ; and internationally in Lebanon singing Dvorak’s Mass in D at the American University of Beirut.
Other favorite productions include: Idomeneo (Idamante), Cosi fan tutte (Dorabella), Faust (Siebel), Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), and Dido and Aeneas (Dido). Heather is featured on the singular fully-orchestrated recording of Opera Saratoga’s production of The Cradle Will Rock (Sister Mister) courtesy of Bridge Records, and on the English translation recording of Light Opera of New York’s production of The Island of Tulipatan (Theodorine), courtesy of Albany Records. Both albums are available on Spotify.
Heather has worked as a Young Artist with Opera Saratoga, Seagle Music Colony, Opera Company of Middlebury, The CoOPERAtive Program, dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, and Bel Canto at Caramoor, and has completed educational outreach tours with Seagle Music Colony throughout the Adirondacks and with FBN Productions throughout North and South Carolina. She holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and Mannes School of Music, where she studied with Joseph Colaneri, Bill Burden, Lindsey Christiansen, and Thomas Bagwell. Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Heather is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. When she’s not onstage, she’s often riding her bike, reading non-fiction, tending to her houseplants, or scouring thrift stores for vintage furniture. heatherjonesmezzo.com
