Jeanine Thames gave a stunning performance as the innocent, but not silly, Gilda. Her soaring soprano, expressing misplaced love for the Duke and her soon-to-be-realized wish to join her mother in heaven, was beautiful.
—The Palm Beach Post
Jeanine Thames has thrilled audiences throughout the Americas, Europe and Japan with a voice that has been described as “stratospheric” (New York Times), “exquisite” (Arizona Daily Star), and “silvery and effortless” (Orpheus, Germany). She has been heard on the prestigious stages of Paris National Opera, Berlin Staatsoper, Düsseldorf Opera, Atlanta Opera and Vancouver Opera singing Mozart’s Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflote. She has also made appearances with Brussels Opera, New Israeli Opera, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera and Arizona Opera. Her many operatic roles have included the title characters in La Traviata Lucia di Lammermoor, and La Fille du Regiment. She has also sung the roles of Gilda Rigoletto, Zerbinetta (_Ariadne auf Naxos_) and Leila (_Les Pecheurs des Perles_) Ms. Thames has appeared with numerous symphony orchestras, including Munich Radio Orchestra, Leipzig Radio Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, singing Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem, The Creation and Messiah. She also appeared as a soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing Elijah.
In 2007, Miss Thames sang the role of Micaëla in Carmen with the Shreveport Opera and she appeared in a Gala Concert at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov in the Czech Republic.
In the summer of 2006 Jeanine Thames appeared in the world premiere of The Greater Good by Stephen Hartke at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. The production, based on the Maupassant story, “Boule de Suif” garnished rave reviews throughout the national and international press.
In the 2005-2006 season, Miss Thames was heard with numerous symphony orchestras, including the Norwalk Symphony (Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony), the Xalapa Symphony (Haydn’s Creation) and the Monterey Symphony ( Carmina Burana). She sang the role of Miss Wordworth in Albert Herring with New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera and she sang the title role in La Traviata with Opera Ontario.
While under contract in Düsseldorf, Miss Thames sang the title role in a new production of La Fille du Régiment as well as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. With Brussels’ Royal Opera de la Monnaie and Tel Aviv’s New Israeli Opera she performed Victor Ullman’s critically acclaimed opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis. With Bilbao Opera in Spain she sang the roles of Elisetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto and Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail.
In concert, in Europe, Miss Thames sang in a Gala New Year’s Concert, broadcast live on television, with the Leipzig Radio Orchestra (MDR) in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, and she sang with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra on numerous occasions. In the U.S., she has performed Carmina Burana with many orchestras including the symphonies of St. Louis, Detroit, Phoenix, Charlotte, Columbus, and Omaha.
In addition to the above-mentioned roles, Miss Thames has enjoyed success as Musetta in La Bohème, Nannetta in Falstaff, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with opera houses in the States and abroad. She has worked with esteemed conductors such as Mario Bernardi, Richard Bonynge, James Conlon, Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Eduardo Mueller, Alessandro Siciliani, and Marcello Viotti.
She can be heard on three CD releases: Most recently, The Greater Good, recorded live at the Glimmerglass Opera Festival (on the Naxos label) Die Entführung aus dem Serail, recorded live at the Würzburg Mozart Festival (on the Capriccio label), and Behold the Sun, a group of works by the composer Alexander Goehr, recorded with the London Sinfonietta (on the Unicorn Kanchana label).
Jeanine Thames is heard frequently in recital and chamber music in her home town of Dallas, TX and throughout the United States. In Dallas, she has appeared in recital with Voces Intimae, the Puccini Foundation, and the Blue Candlelight Society and the Plano Symphony. She hails from Beaumont, Texas, and is a graduate of Lamar University (B.M.) and The Juilliard School (M.M.) She resides in Plano, Texas with her husband, tenor, Allan Glassman, and their ten-year-old son Ben.