University of Colorado Masterclass

American soprano Jennifer Bird enjoys a busy and varied singing career in the United States and Europe, having built a reputation as a charismatic, intelligent and versatile performer of more than 50 roles in opera, operetta and musical theater, as well as much of the standard oratorio and concert literature.

As the recipient of a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship, Bird studied in Germany in the Opernklasse of the Hamburg Musikhochschule where she joined the vocal studio of renowned soprano Judith Beckmann. Soon thereafter she began singing at the Landestheater Coburg and then at the Bremer Theater where she became a pillar of the soloist ensemble, singing major roles in the lyric and lyric-coloratura soprano repertory and, in Coburg, twice earning the Audience Favorite Prize. Engagements followed at the Vienna Volksoper, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Theater Bonn, Theater Chemnitz, Theater Lu?beck, Theater Wu?rzburg and Theater Hagen, among others. Bird has sung roles spanning from soubrette to dramatic coloratura, especially in the operas of Mozart (Despina, Pamina, Sandrina, Konstanze), Donizetti (Norina, Adina, Lucia) and Verdi (Gilda and Violetta). Other favorites have included the title role in Berg’s Lulu, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Marguerite in Faust, Musetta in La Bohème, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress and Nedda in I Pagliacci.

Jennifer DeDominici has a versatile performing career spanning musical theatre, opera, concert work, and even film.  Some of her favorite operatic roles include Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Carmen in Carmen, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Mrs. Jones in Street Scene, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Siebel in Faust, and 3rd Secretary in Nixon in China.  In the musical theater world, she has played Francesca in Bridges of Madison County, Guenevere in Camelot, Charity in Barnum, Maria in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Petra in A Little Night Music, Judy in 9 to 5, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Claudia in Nine, and Nellie Forbush in South Pacific, among others.  Jennifer recently portrayed Emperor Joseph II ("too many notes") in the play Amadeus.  She has worked with Tim Rice on his show for the Seabourn Cruise Line and joined a star-studded cast in a concert version of My Fair Lady featuring Emmy-award-winning Peter Scolari and Broadway artist Elena Shaddow which played with the Milwaukee Symphony and North Carolina Symphony.  Jennifer has performed with organizations such as Opera Colorado, Indianapolis Opera, San Diego Opera, Piedmont Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Fort Collins, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, National Repertory Orchestra, Fresno Philharmonic, Cleveland Pops, Colorado Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Inside the Orchestra, and Denver Philharmonic.    She was an Apprentice Artist at the Santa Fe Opera, Anchorage Opera, and Opera Colorado. She is a first-place winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Auditions, a NATS Singer of the Year, and a four-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  She is currently a Lecturer in Voice at University of Colorado at Boulder and the principal voice instructor at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colorado.