Jessica Niles

As an artist, I choose to think and act boldly, communicate with integrity and intent, and collaborate to create a community of interpersonal and individual understanding. I am a singer of classical and contemporary dramatic musical art, and I inhabit our stories so to fill the world with exploration of human experience, emotion, and expression.

Noted for her “prodigious energy and clarity” American soprano Jessica Niles is quickly making a name for herself internationally in the creation of new opera productions. Opening the 2023-2024 season at La Monnaie / De Munt, Niles crafted and premiered the role of Sandra under the direction of Marie-eve Signeyrole in Bernard Foccroulle’s Cassandra, delivering “a remarkable performance as Sandra, a touching and courageous figure to whom the soprano brings conviction, freshness, and profundity”(ConcertoNet). Lauded for her unconditional powerful playing as a vocal emotional force, Niles is an alum of The Juilliard School where she trained in Anne Bogart’s method of Physical Viewpoints, a technique that acts as a medium for thinking about and acting upon movement, gesture, and creative space. She was featured in the Internationale Händel-Festspiele 2021 reprising the sorceress Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo, a role which brought her much acclaim; 2021 also marked the return of international performances of Handel’s Aminta e Fillide with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants, bringing her semi-staged portrayal of Aminta to the 40th annual Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie, The Queen’s Theatre at The Royal Palace of Versailles, the Musée des Impressionnismes, Festival Castell de Peralada, and multiple venues across New York City. A member of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio from 2021-2023, Niles performed roles ranging from contemporary to baroque including Iris in Claus Guth’s new production of Handel’s Semele where she “provided much of the show’s levity, through musical delivery and physical comedy” (New York Times), Sandrina in the new production of Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa where she was hailed as the “highlight of the evening” (OperaOnline, ConcertoNet), Schwester Jasmin in the new production of Georg Friedrich Haas’ Thomas, Echo in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Clorinda in Rossini’s la Cenerentola, and una Voce dal Cielo in Verdi’s Don Carlo. This season, Niles returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper reprising Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos at the 2024 Hong Kong Arts Festival, making her role debuts of Marzelline in Calixto Bieito’s production of Beethoven’s Fidelio and der Junger Hirt in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, and reprising Clorinda in la Cenerentola with an all-star cast including Isabel Leonard, Lawrence Brownlee, and colleague and friend Emily Sierra. In recent concert repertoire, Niles has performed and recorded CDs with the Bayerische Rundfunk (Mendelssohn’s Elias) and the Münchener Kammerorchester (chamber pieces for soprano, timpani, percussion, and string orchestra by Gloria Coates). This season she makes her Salzburger Festspiele debut as Alexandra in Weinberg’s Der Idiot.

A multi-degree alumn of The Juilliard School (Pre-Co. 2015, BM 2019, MM 2021), Niles has received prestigious awards for her leadership and vocal achievements including the Festspielpreis by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Münchner Opernfestspiele, Juilliard commencement awards The Peter Mennin Prize (2019) and The William Schuman Prize (2021), and the Kovner Fellowship (2018-2021). In 2020, Niles was the winner of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Honors Recital with collaborator pianist Gracie Francis, where she was selected to present her recital focused on the themes in Goethe’s Mignon and the poetry of Emily Dickinson. During her time living in New York City, Niles made her Carnegie Hall debut performing Handel’s Israel in Egypt with MasterVoices among artists John Holiday and Mikaela Bennett, performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and National Sawdust with the Cecilia Chorus, and began exploring using the operatic voice in contemporary and collaborative settings. During her work with Les Arts Florissants, she met double-bassist and composer Doug Balliett, and in 2019 premiered his chamber opera Gawain and the Green Night with baroque ensemble ACRONYM. In the following years, she regularly sang Balliett’s weekly-composed cantatas for St. Mary’s Church on Grand Street. Combining movement and voice, Niles performed Meredith Monk’s choreographed work “Wa-lie-oh” in recital at Juilliard coached by Janis Brenner, a member of Meredith Monk’s Vocal Ensemble from 1990-2005, and collaborated with dance company Alessandra Corona Performing Works (ACPW) performing a fusion of Handel’s Messiah with new choreography. In the visual arts, Niles collaborated with composer Manuel Sosa and painter Laura Karetzky in recording vocals for a new composition/art exhibition at Brooklyn’s BRIC House. In recital she premiered dramatic chamber works of Manuel Sosa, the song cycle “Open House” by Jack Frerer to text by Beth Ann Fennelly, and ensemble pieces by Benjamin Wenzelberg. In 2018, Niles commissioned and premiered The Opposite of Loneliness: A Chamber Piece for soprano and string quartet. Niles dedicated the work to the activist, playwright, author, and journalist Marina Keegan, whose poetry inspired Niles to reconnect with singer, composer, and conductor Benjamin Wenzelberg in setting her words to music.