DIANA JACKLIN, Dramatic Soprano

American Soprano DIANA JACKLIN stands out among singers for her extreme vocal power and sheer beauty of tone combined with musical intelligence and versatility. A true high dramatic soprano, Diana Jacklin is one of very few in the world with this extremely rare voice type. She is admired for her vocal artistry which allows her to create musical intimacy and intensity with ease on both the opera and recital stage. Ms. Jacklin is deeply honored to have been nominated for the Marian Anderson Award 2016, an award named after the great and courageous American contralto who changed the world with her singing. Diana Jacklin has performed in many distinguished concert halls including Bela Bartok Hall, Stephansdom Vienna, Vienna Konzerthaus' Mozartsaal, Kennedy Center, Tanglewood, Symphony Hall, Sanders Theater, Shalin Liu Performance Center, Austrian Cultural Forum NYC, among others. With 20 opera roles, including one world-premiere, to her credit, she has, furthermore, sung over 200 recitals internationally.

Diana Jacklin has gained international acclaim for her performances in festivals, recital halls, opera companies and orchestras in over 9 countries in Europe and America, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera, Maine Grand Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Operafest! of NH, Raylynmor Opera, Rockport Chamber Music Festival, International Music Festival of Jimena de la Frontera, Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, KlangFEST Bad Ischl, Crowell Chapel Concert Series, Menotomy Concert Series, Amici Concert Series, Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Cape Ann Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Salem Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Most recently, Ms. Jacklin was the featured soloist for The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Pops concert in the Boston area. She also sang in The Diva and the Fiddler's annual Christmas concert and performed the annual New Year's Concert with The Melos Ensemble Wien. She performed breathtaking recitals at The Shalin Liu Performance Center and The Crowell Chapel in the Boston area, as well as being featured in Boston’s First Night festivities. At The Bela Bartok Hall in Budapest and Stephansdom in Vienna, she sang the soprano solo in the Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Baritone Adrian Eröd. She sang a Lady Macbeth which “crackled with excitement” in an extremely successful production of Verdi’s Macbeth with Louis Otey as Macbeth, and she performed as the soprano soloist in the Beethoven 9. Her notable operatic roles include Lady Macbeth, Abigaille, Aida (Verdi); Minnie, Tosca and Turandot (Puccini); Leonore (Beethoven); Sieglinde, Senta, Brünnhilde (Walküre), Isolde, Venus, Kundry and Ortrud (Wagner); Elektra (Strauss), among others. For orchestral repertoire, she sings Beethoven 9 and Missa Solemnis; Mahler 2, 8 and Rückert Lieder; Brahms Requiem; Verdi Requiem; Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder; Strauss’ Four Last Songs; Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’Ete, among others.

Diana Jacklin’s song recital at the International Music Festival of Jimena de la Frontera, Spain prompted critic José Luis Tobalina from EuropaSur to write, "The powerful and at the same time melodic voice of Diana Jacklin, as well as the expression of her face and the movement of her hands, created an atmosphere to which all of us in the recital hall were transported."  Her recital work has been broadcast on Spanish television; supported by grants from The Saint Botolph Club Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council; and endorsed by the Austrian Embassy in the Hague. In 2007, Ms. Jacklin formed a unique Duo with Violinist Hartmut Ometzberger (www.hartmutometzberger.com) entitled The Diva and the Fiddler. As the only voice and violin duo in the world, they arrange and perform works for violin and voice alone, and their unique expression and range of color has inspired several composers to write music for their rare combination. Described as “an eclectic duo” by TIME OUT (NYC), The Diva and the Fiddler have been invited to perform in festivals and concerts in Vienna, Austria, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, Antwerp, Styria, St. Louis, Boston (broadcast worldwide) and NYC. In addition, they are often engaged to perform at such high-profile corporate and private events as the groundbreaking celebrations for the Shangri-La, the first six-star hotel in Vienna.

Also a dedicated pedagogue, Ms. Jacklin teaches internationally, leading many of her students into a life in music. Because of her gift for nurturing talent and her enthusiasm for passing on the art form, she is sought after by serious developing singers. She teaches a true Bel Canto technique, as taught to her by two prominent exponents of Bel Canto singing, combined with a scientific understanding of the vocal apparatus and the teaching of musical and dramatic presentation. Her private studio attracts students from around the world, and she is regularly invited to teach masterclasses in the United States and Europe. In addition to maintaining private studios in Vienna, Austria and the Boston, Massachusetts area, Ms. Jacklin is currently an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Webster University in Vienna, Austria. Formerly, she was a Lecturer in Voice at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. She has served as Adjunct Voice Faculty of many college preparatory schools, including The Pingree School in Hamilton, Massachusetts; Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts; Landmark School in Beverly, Massachusetts, and The Danube International School in Vienna, Austria. Furthermore, she is the Founding Director of the North Shore Vocal Institute, a school for singing based on the North Shore of Boston.

She is regularly invited to teach masterclasses in the United States and Europe. Most recently, she has given masterclasses at Webster University in St. Louis and Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. In addition, she has judged NATS and NATSAA vocal competitions(among others), presented a symposium for AIMS in Graz and served as Artist-in-Residence for CODA in Jimena de la Frontera, Spain. Together, Diana Jacklin and Hartmut Ometzberger created and are the Directors of a summer course for singers and violinists in July called The International Academy of Musical Excellence (www.academyofmusicalexcellence.com) and a chamber music course ChamberMusicWeeks (www.chambermusicweeks.com), taught three times a year, in Graz, Austria. Seeing a real need for high quality support for music education in schools, in 2002, Ms. Jacklin developed a one-woman opera outreach program and has brought What is Opera?  to thousands of enchanted and enthusiastic school children. Her love of children and her gift of teaching has made What is Opera?  a great success.

Diana Jacklin earned a degree from the prestigious Eastman School of Music. Her principal voice teachers are Blanche Thebom (pupil of Edyth Walker) and Glenys Linos (pupil of Callas’ teacher Elvira de Hidalgo), both prominent exponents of the Bel Canto technique of singing. Dalcroze studies with Lisa Parker; Chamber Music with Jan De Gaetani.