Praised
by Hugh Canning of the Sunday Times for her “sensational”
Ulrica, “the best I’ve heard in any theater,” mezzo-soprano
Jill Grove has been recognized by the world’s major opera companies
and orchestras for her the beauty and power of her voice.
Jill Grove began the 2002/3 season with performances of Beethoven’s
Ninth Symphony for her debut with the New York Philharmonic
under Lorin Maazel. These concerts mark the beginning of his tenure
as music director there. She sang Madelon in Andrea Chenier
(opposite Placido Domingo) and will sing Magdalene in Die Meistersinger
von Nürnberg at the Metropolitan Opera, the latter conducted
by James Levine. She makes her English National Opera debut as Marfa
in Khovanshchina in the renowned Francesca Zambello production
and sings her first Amernis in Aida with Dayton Opera. Other
notable concert appearances include her first Verdi Requiem
under Sir Andrew Davis with the Toronto Symphony and concerts of Der
Fliegende Holländer with the San Francisco Symphony under
Michael Tilson Thomas. She also performs the Omniscient Mussel in Strauss’s
Die Ägyptische Helena with the American Symphony Orchestra
opposite Deborah Voigt which will be recorded by Teldec.
In the 2001-2002 season, Jill Grove returned to the Metropolitan Opera
for her first performances as Magdalene in Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg conducted by Levine. These performances were recorded
for PBS telecast. She made her Dallas Opera debut as First Norn in Götterdämmerung
and sang her first performances as Azucena in Il Trovatore
with Tulsa Opera. She also performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at
the Hollywood Bowl, Mahler’s Third Symphony at the Schleswig-Holstein
Festival and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Houston
Symphony under Hans Graf.
Jill Grove made her acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut as Pantalis in
a new Robert Carsen production of Boito's Mefistofele opposite
Samuel Ramey. Other roles there include Emilia in Otello and
Rossweise in Die Walküre, both conducted by James Levine
and Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer conducted by Valery
Gergiev. She made her debut at Santa Fe Opera as the Omniscient Sea-Shell
and also sang Dame Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff in summer 2001.
In Europe, she made her Paris debut as the Haushälterin in Strauss'
Die Schweigsame Frau at the Théâtre du Châtelet
conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi and at the Netherlands Opera as
the Deaconess in Szymanowski's King Roger.
In concert, she has sung Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the
Atlanta Symphony under Roberto Abbado and the Detroit Symphony under
Neemi Järvi; Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with the
National Symphony Orchestra under Graf and most recently made her debut
with the San Francisco Symphony Mahler's Eighth Symphony under
Tilson Thomas.
Jill Grove sang her first Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera in
her European debut with the Welsh National Opera. She went on to make
her Los Angeles Opera debut in the world premiere of Tobias Picker's
The Fantastic Mr. Fox. She also made her Houston Symphony debut
in Mahler's Third Symphony as well as in Beethoven's 9th
Symphony with which Christoph Eschenbach ended his tenure as music
director of the Orchestra. He also invited her to sing in Mahler's 8th
Symphony with the Norddeutsche Rundfunk. She debuted with the Minnesota
Orchestra as Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos under Jeffrey Tate.
Other performances have included appearances with San Francisco Opera
as First Maid in Elektra and with Houston Grand Opera as Suzuki
in Madama Butterfly and the Fortune Teller in Arabella.
Ms. Grove sang the Beethoven's 9th and Bernstein's Jeremiah symphony
at the Ravinia Festival also with Eschenbach. She also coached Italian
repertoire with Renata Scotto in Italy, appearing in concert with the
Genoa Orchestra under the auspices of Scotto's Opera Academy. As a member
of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, she has performed numerous roles
with the company including Anne Kronenberg in the world Premiere of
Harvey Milk and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Cecilia
Bartoli, which has been commercially released on video by Decca/London.
Jill Grove is the winner of a 2001 Richard Tucker Foundation Career
Grant, a 1999 George London Foundation Career Grant, a 1997 Sullivan
Foundation Career Grant, a 1996 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions, a 1996 recipient of a Richard Tucker Foundation Study
Grant and a 1995 recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant
Jill Grove was a member of the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera.
She has also sung with the Opera Theater of St Louis. She attended the
Music Academy of the West, the New England Conservatory and Stephen
F. Austin State University. She resides in New York and studies with
Patricia McCaffrey.
