J’Nai Bridges

Mezzo-soprano

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J'Nai Bridges bio 25-26.docx English

American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges is one of the pre-eminent vocal talents of her generation, renowned for her rich voice and commanding stage presence. She has performed leading roles at many of the world’s major opera houses including Carmen at San Francisco Opera, Arena di Verona, Hamburg Staatsoper, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Wiener Staatsoper. A champion of contemporary music, she has premiered works by John Adams, Jake Heggie, Jimmy López Bellido and, as Nefertiti in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten at the Metropolitan Opera, won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

In the 2025/26 season, J’Nai Bridges can be heard on stage as Carmen at Teatro Real Madrid and Seattle Opera, as Maddalena in Rigoletto at San Francisco Opera, as Elisabeth Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible at Washington National Opera, and she sings Lieberson’s Neruda Songs at Grant Park Music Festival, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero.

J’Nai Bridges was unanimously acclaimed as Didon in concert performances of Les Troyens at Seattle Opera under Ludovic Morlot, equally for her commanding portrayal as Dalila (Samson et Dalila) at Washington National Opera. She returned to Metropolitan Opera as Maddalena and again in El Niño, conducted by Marin Alsop, and was celebrated for her interpretation of Sister Helen Préjean (Dead Man Walking) at Vancouver Opera, going on to create the role of Lucinda in the world premiere of Heggie’s Intelligence at Houston Grand Opera. She made her role debut as Erika (Vanessa) with National Symphony Orchestra, led by Gianandrea Noseda, and joined San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex under Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Most recently, she premiered Carlos Simon’s Songs of Separation alongside Berio’s Folk Songs with National Symphony Orchestra, again under Noseda’s direction and has recently debuted with London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Antonio Pappano. Her concert repertoire spans Mahler, Beethoven, Ravel, and Bernstein, and has collaborated with many leading conductors including Gustavo Dudamel and Andris Nelsons.

A Grammy Award winner for her recording of Richard Danielpour’s The Passion of Yeshua, Bridges was named a Kennedy Center NEXT50 cultural leader in 2022. She is a passionate advocate for diversity in the arts and frequently presents recitals across North America. A native of Tacoma, Washington, she studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Manhattan School of Music.