The summer of 2008 was Jennifer Forni’s first experience working with Santa Fe Opera, and it proved to be a most memorable summer.
The lyric soprano from Seattle was in New Mexico as a member of Santa Fe Opera’s internationally recognized Apprentice Program for Singers, which more than 1,000 younger singers apply to each year for about 40 positions. The apprentices are involved in a challenging program of training and performances, including singing in the chorus. Forni’s assignment was to cover Nannetta in Falstaff. With the antepenultimate performance one day away, she received a phone call saying “Jennifer, we need you to sing Nannetta tomorrow night.”
“I thought, ‘Nannetta? What aria is Nannetta?’ And then it hit me. I was so excited. What made it even better was that my parents had decided to visit that same day. I couldn’t believe it was happening, and I was so happy and so nervous all at the same time. It was a dream come true,” she says.
She reported at 9:00 the next morning for a staging rehearsal of their opera scenes concert, which lasted two-and-a-half hours. Then she went through her part with conductor Paolo Arrivabeni, ate lunch, visited the set, had a costume fitting, and ate dinner.
“It was a little overwhelming because it happened so fast, but it was the most exciting and nerve-wracking experience of my life. Santa Fe Opera is one of the biggest and best summer festivals, and to be going on in such a great part was really exciting,” she says.
Nannetta is a special role for Forni because she enjoys portraying what she describes as a “fun, sweet character whom everyone likes.” Plus, she relishes the fact that Nannetta’s music accounts for some of the most lyrical and tender moments in the opera. “I think she has the best music in the show because she gets these beautiful, lyric moments, and her pianissimo high notes just float over the orchestra,” Forni says.
Her performance was so successful that she was also asked to sing the final two performances. “When they entrusted me with the rest of the run of Falstaff, I felt really honored. I still think back to that first Saturday night performance as one of the greatest moments in my life thus far,” she says.
The culmination of her efforts during that summer was receiving one of the 2008 Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Awards. The award that Forni received is the Judith Raskin Memorial Award for Singers, presented in memory of the acclaimed American soprano who appeared with Santa Fe Opera in many of its early seasons.
In retrospect, she believes that Santa Fe Opera did an excellent job of preparing the covers by offering extra coaching as well as a week of staging. The covers also met with the conductor and sang through the opera with him. “It was great to be able to work with him and experience exactly what he wanted,” Forni says.
Although she did not have time to rehearse with the principals, Forni considered that lack of interaction a plus. “It was awesome to be thrown in as a cover, without ever really rehearsing with the principals, because everything was so fresh and real. Nothing was preplanned or stale,” she says, adding that all of the principals were welcoming, professional, and respectful.
No matter where she covers—Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, or Portland Opera—Forni approaches her assignment as if she were going on stage. That means doing her background studying for each role and ensuring that she appears professional and prepared upon arriving for rehearsals. Those characteristics made an impression on Glenn Lewis, head of music for Pittsburgh Opera and a regular coach for Santa Fe Opera, who worked with her on diction and musical precision, in addition to Nannetta’s place in the final fugue.
“She was well prepared and had definite ideas about phrasing and the meaning of the text, so the coaching became a dialogue, which is a much more satisfying experience,” he says. It became obvious to Lewis that Forni takes her cover assignments seriously because she attended all staging and orchestral rehearsals, fastidiously studied the staging and, when she knew she might go on stage, secured extra coaching and drilling.
Two other attributes that especially impressed Lewis were Forni’s patience and discipline. “She was at ease leaving her comfort zone and trying things that take a few attempts to learn. She is very patient to try and finesse what she’s doing,” he says. “When we finally heard her on stage, [her voice] felt almost luxurious for a Nannetta. We think it won’t be long before she moves into a more substantial repertoire.”
She certainly embraced more substantial repertoire at the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, where she studied with Dominic Cossa and just completed her master’s degree in opera. She sang Tatyana in Eugene Onegin in the spring of 2009, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the fall of 2008, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte the previous spring.
“What initially impressed me about [Jenn] when we first met in St. Louis was the sheer beauty of her voice,” says Miah Im, former music director of the Maryland Opera Studio. “I’ll never forget the time when the Young Artists prepared opera scenes and she was cast as Elvira and sang the Act I finale from L’italiana in Algeri. Her high Cs filled the theater, and it was a thrilling and impressive sound. Jenn has a richness and fullness in her sound that is balanced with the ability to float beautiful high notes.”
She also helped Forni prepare for Nannetta. “I wanted her to know the score like the back of her hand, and know and understand every marking that Verdi put into his music. Having a beautiful voice is a wonderful gift—but having good rhythm, good diction, and thorough preparation creates the whole package,” Im says.
Prior to attending the University of Maryland, Forni earned her bachelor of music degree at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 2007. For Oberlin Opera Theater, she sang the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Suzel in L’amico Fritz, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites and Minerva in Orpheus in the Underworld.
Also in 2007, she won the Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition, which discovers new talent and helps singers who intend to pursue operatic careers. The competition is open to professional and preprofessional singers, ages 20 to 35, who have completed, or are completing, a musical education suitable for the operatic stage.
Forni’s desire to sing opera was a product of her father’s love of opera and, particularly, the Three Tenors. He always played opera while they were working on their house. So, as a little girl, she sang along with his records. “I couldn’t have asked for more supportive parents than mine. They have been behind me, encouraging me every step of the way. They’re amazing,” she says.
When she reached grade school, her music teacher noticed her talent, and Forni started voice lessons at age 15. That same teacher encouraged her to participate in a summer program—the vocal academy for high school students at Oberlin—and she entered the academy at age 16. She returned for a second year, eventually applied for Oberlin, and received a scholarship for her undergraduate studies.
Now, having returned to Santa Fe Opera as an apprentice for the 2009 season to sing Coryphée in Alceste, she is looking forward to upcoming collaborations with Portland Opera. Forni is a member of the 2009-10 Portland Opera Studio program, a nine-month program designed to train upcoming opera singers who have graduated from the country’s vocal conservatories. Forni will be covering Mimì in La bohème, Euridice in Orphée, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
It is probably safe to say that, no matter where her career takes her, Santa Fe will always remain special for her. “I had put in a lot of work to have [Santa Fe Opera] on my résumé as a cover,” she says, “but to actually get to go on for the Santa Fe Opera was exhilarating. I could not have asked for a better experience. Santa Fe Opera, thank you so very much.”
