Soprano Jan Cornelius is currently an artist in residence at the Academy of Vocal Arts. Her roles there have included Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte and the title role in Act II of Manon Lescaut. Cornelius most recently earned third prize in Mobile Opera’s Rose Palmai-Tenser Competition. She was a finalist in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in Paris this past summer, and received an encouragement award in the 2007 Connecticut Opera Guild’s Vocal Competition. Also this past summer, Cornelius made her main-stage debut with Chautauqua Opera as Micaela in Carmen and Giannetta in The Elixir of Love.
In May of 2007, Cornelius completed a 14-month residency with Virginia Opera’s Spectrum Young Artist Program. She debuted on the company’s main stage as Frasquita in Carmen and also covered the role of Micaela. She covered the role of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci and was granted a main-stage performance during the run. Her residency also included more than 250 performances of three different children’s operas along with numerous concert and recital performances. During her first five-month residency with VOA as a mezzo, Cornelius performed the roles of Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Madam Witch in Seymour Barab’s Sleeping Beauty, and the Mother/Grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood.
As a Young Artist, Cornelius has apprenticed with such acclaimed companies as the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Mobile Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and The Ohio Light Opera. She has performed Mercedes (Carmen) with Birmingham Opera and Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana with the Atlantic Coast Festival Opera. Additionally, Cornelius has performed both Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Giulietta (The Tales of Hoffmann) overseas with the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy.
Cornelius is looking forward to her Opera New Jersey debut in August as Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
I was involved in both church and school choirs at a very young age. From grade school to high school, choir taught me the fundamentals of music while also opening my eyes to how fun solo singing could be. I’m very thankful for my high school choir director, who encouraged me relentlessly to take my talent seriously and study classical voice.
Who are some of your role models, mentors, or influential people in your life?
When speaking in terms of character, most of the influential people in my life are the women in my family. All have managed to balance career and family, and in turn inspire me to do the same.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
Either Tchaikovsky’s Tatiana or Puccini’s Tosca. Both are extremely complex women with heartbreakingly beautiful music.
What has happened in your career that made you feel like you’ve “made it”? Or, what needs to happen in your career for you to feel that you’ve finally made it?
Being a resident artist here at the Academy of Vocal Arts is definitely a step in the right direction. Once I sign my first couple of A-house contracts, I believe that I will have “made it.” The challenge will be to continue singing in them.
Known for her beautifully warm, uniquely colored voice, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Kosharsky combines an exceptional vocal range and expressive musicality with a strong stage presence. Originally a professional flutist, Kosharsky has more than 20 years of experience performing in operas, operettas, musicals, and concerts in the United States and in Europe. Most recently she debuted with the New Jersey Philharmonic as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah. In April she will revisit a favorite role singing Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Martinez Opera in the San Francisco Bay Area.
In 2007 Kosharsky joined Union Ave Opera (St. Louis) in the role of Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Later that year she appeared as Clotilde Lombaste in Romberg’s The New Moon with Music by the Lake in Wisconsin. Earlier in 2007 Kosharsky sang the role of Preziosilla in Verdi’s La forza del destino with da Corneto Opera in Chicago and the role of Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Elgin Opera.
During the summer of 2006 Kosharsky debuted in two of her signature roles: as Rosina in the The Barber of Seville at Walton Arts Center and as Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Chicago Cultural Center. Other roles include Dorabella in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Charlotte in Massenet’s Werther, and the title roles in Rossini’s La cenerentola and Bizet’s Carmen.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
While still a flute major during my first two years of college I got up the courage to take a voice lesson (I was convinced that I couldn’t sing). I wanted to audition for musical theatre but my first voice teacher thought I had a great talent for opera and suggested I think seriously about pursuing a career as a classical singer. So overnight I tell my mom I want to be an opera singer not a flutist. My mom had driven me every week to my flute lessons and [she] nearly “freaked,” but she supported my change 100 percent.
What has been your career highlight to this point?
Winning second place in the Emerging Professional Division AudComps has definitely been a highlight. My early career was highlighted by the opportunity to sing and study in Italy. Being immersed in another culture and becoming fluent in Italian was a dream and has been invaluable.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
There’s so much I love about being an opera singer. Its multifaceted lifestyle suits me perfectly. Opera combines gorgeous music, poetry, history, cultures, and languages. Add the orchestra, gorgeous sets, and costumes, and I find it difficult to imagine another career as fulfilling.
Who are some of your role models, mentors or influential people in your life?
My teacher, Winifred Brown. . . . I also had the opportunity to work with Regina Resnik while in Italy and she made a difference at a time when I needed it most. But my mom and my brother have been the most influential and have been fierce about me persevering.
How do you handle rejection?
Most of the time it fires me up and makes me more determined. Sometimes rejection hits harder. That’s when I read a glowing letter of recommendation from a conductor or I listen to my singing of a favorite performance. That keeps me moving forward. Of course, rejection is always easier to handle on the heels
of success.
