Jennifer France

A previous Emerging Artist at Scottish Opera, British soprano Jennifer France was winner of the 2018 Critics’ Circle Emerging Talent Award.

Highlights of Jennifer France's 2026/27 season include two major international debuts: her US debut with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, followed by her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Brett Dean. Hailed by Gramophone for her "thrillingly expressive voice of diamantine beauty", Jennifer also returns to the Opéra Comique as The Girl in George Benjamin's Into the Little Hill and to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for Brett Dean's Good Sometimes Queen. She makes her much-anticipated role debut as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore at Grange Park Opera and appears as Tytania in Deborah Warner's acclaimed production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Ivor Bolton. Her concert season also includes Viennese New Year performances with Nil Venditti and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Recent highlights include Tytania in Peter Hall’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Glyndebourne’s Autumn season, First Niece in Deborah Warner’s production of Peter Grimes at the Royal Opera House, London, and Cecily Cardew in Gerald Barry’s The Importance of Being Earnest at Garsington Opera. Jennifer also made her Opéra National de Paris debut singing Beatrice in Dusapin’s Il viaggio, Dante conducted by Kent Nagano and her role debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor at Opera Holland Park. Concert highlights include Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner, Ligeti’s Requiem with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner, and the Spanish premiere of Brett Dean’s In spe contra spe with Jaime Martín and the Orquesta Nacional de España.

Previous seasons have seen two returns to the Royal Opera House for Iphis Jephtha conducted by Laurence Cummings and Despina Così fan tutte with Alexander Soddy and a return to Garsington Opera for Andrew Norman’s A Trip to the Moon. On the concert platform, Jennifer sang Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Matthew Halls, Jonathan Dove’s There Was a Child with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Brett Dean’s 2nd Quartet with the Doric String Quartet at the Wigmore Hall, Christmas concerts with the Royal Choral Society at the Royal Albert Hall and New Years Eve gala concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Jiří Rožeň.

Other notable performances include Jennifer’s return to the role of Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos for Garsington Opera and Opera North and her role debut as Mary in Jake Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life for English National Opera. Concert highlights feature the Bergen Philharmonic and Sir Mark Elder, the Hallé Orchestra and Matthew Hamilton and the world premiere of Brett Dean’s In This Brief Moment with the CBSO and Nick Collon, and Carmina Burana with the CBSO in Kazuki Yamada’s inaugural concert as Chief Conductor. Summer 2023 saw Jennifer join the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival for Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you conducted by Ryan Wigglesworth and a return to the BBC Proms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Ligeti’s Requiem with Edward Gardner.

Jennifer’s operatic roles include the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen for Opera Holland Park, Alice in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, First Niece Peter Grimes, Lessons in Love and Violence for The Royal Opera House, La Princesse in Philip Glass’ Orphée for ENO, the title role of Semele at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Ophelia in Brett Dean’s Hamlet for Glyndebourne On Tour, Marzelline Fidelio, Susana Nozze and La Princesse Elsbeth Fantasio for Garsington Opera, Le Feu/Le Rossignol L’enfant et les sortilèges in concert with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Lessons in Love and Violence for Dutch National Opera. Other notable house debuts include Zerbinetta at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich and at the Nederlandse Reisopera, where she was nominated for a Schaunard Award and as Beatrice in the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin’s Il viaggio, Dante at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

A prolific concert artist, she has sung Gerald Barry’s The Eternal Recurrence and Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Britten Sinfonia, Elgar Une voix dans le désert with the Hallé, Handel arias with the Academy of Ancient Music, Dixit Dominus at the International Handel Festival Karlsruhe, Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Mozart Requiem with the London Mozart Players. She made her BBC Proms debut in 2017 and Salzburg Festival debut in 2019 singing Pascal Dusapin’s Medeamaterial with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin.

Winner of the Song Prize at the 2014 Kathleen Ferrier Awards and the 2014 Leonard Ingrams Award from Garsington Opera, her recordings include Barry’s The Eternal Recurrence and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Signum), Lessons in Love and Violence (Nimbus & Opus Arte), Il Vologeso (Signum), Debussy Songs – Vol. 3 & 4 with Malcolm Martineau (Hyperion) and Elgar’s Une voix dans le désert (Hallé).