Jacqueline Woodley

Canadian soprano Jacqueline Woodley has been praised for her fearless versatility, changing styles fluidly from early music to contemporary, from opera to art song.

Recent performances include her début at San Francisco Opera, singing Waldvogel (Siegfried) with Canadian Opera Company, her Montreal Symphony Orchestra debut under Kent Nagano; the roles of Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) with Edmonton Opera; appearances at the Vancouver Early Music Festival and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival with Les Voix Baroques; a soprano and trumpet programme for Clavecin en Concert and La Fête de la Musique de Mont-Tremblant; a solo recital of Mozart, Schubert and Strauss in Quebec; and Handel’s Messiah for groups such as the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Aradia Ensemble, Symphony Nova Scotia and in a staged version for Against the Grain Theatre.

Sought after for her “exceptional talent” in performing modern works, Jacqueline created the role of Milica-Bride in the première of Ana Sokolovic’s opera Svaba-Wedding with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, as well as subsequent Canadian and European tours and the American premiere of the work with Philadelphia Opera. This past spring, she also sang the role of Dahlia in the premiere of Scottish composer John Harris’ M’dea Undone (libretto by Marjorie Chen, co-production by Tapestry Opera and Scottish Opera, Toronto). Other acclaimed performances of contemporary music include works by György Kurtág, Kaija Saariaho and Judith Weir.

She was recently featured in a jazz mass with reknowned jazz musicians Christine Jensen, Chad Linsley, Adrian Vedardy, Dave Laird and the Choeur Saint-Laurent in their concert of Mass in Blue (Todd) and Summertime.

Jacqueline has been featured in a newly released album of songs called “Cloud Light” by Canadian-Polish composer Norbert Palej, recorded with pianist Steven Philcox and the Canadian Art Song Project.

A recent alumna of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble (2010-2012), she performed and covered several main stage roles, among which Olympia (Contes d’Hoffmann), Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice), First Priestess (Iphigénie en Tauride), Page (Rigoletto), Lace Seller (Death in Venice), and was heard in the Studio Ensemble productions as Iris in Semele and the “deliciously sexy” Papagena in Die Zauberflöte.

Possessing a strong affinity for concert works, Jacqueline has recently sung Bach’s Saint John Passion, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Fauré and Mozart’s Requiem, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, Mercure’s Cantate pour une joie, Haydn’s The Creation, Pärt’s Stabat Mater, Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, I-II, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem.

Upcoming performances include returning to the Canadian Opera Company as Papagena in 2017, and singing Daphne in Toronto Masque Theatre’s staged Apollo e Dafne (Handel) in November 2016.

Jacqueline holds a master’s in opera from McGill University where she studied and coached with Joanne Kolomyjec, Patrick Hansen and Michael McMahon.