Shelley JACKSON

Prize winner at the Maria Callas Grand Prix, Italian-American soprano Shelley Jackson is quickly establishing herself as a rising star on the international stage. Immediately prior to the pandemic, she sang Tosca at the Malmö Opera and returned to the role in 2022 at the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landestheater for her first production post-pandemic, earning praise for her “enormous vocal quality . . . powerful, colorful, mellifluous dramatic soprano” (Opernglas) and “outstanding vocal power and exuberant emotionality” (Flensburger Tagblatt). In 2025, Shelley sings Tosca in a concert version on tour with the Theater and Orchestra Neubrandenburg, Mimì in La bohème at the Domstufen Festspiele in Erfurt, and returns to Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater in 2026.

In 2024, Shelley sang Tosca at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, made her role debut as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, and sang Violetta in La traviata, both at the Schleswig-Holsteinisches Landestheater. In 2023, Shelley made her debut in the title role of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a “radiant dramatic soprano with brilliant high notes” (IOCO), at the Landestheater Detmold in a new production by Joan Anton Rechi, and sang Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Theater und Orchester Neubrandenburg. In 2022, she stepped in at Theater Bielefeld for the opening night and further performances of their new production of La bohème as Mimì. She also covered and sang rehearsals of Anna Bolena for Diana Damrau in Opernhaus Zürich’s new production by David Alden, and stepped in for rehearsals of Tosca at the Tiroler Landestheater.

In 2019, Shelley made a series of critically acclaimed role and house debuts: Anna Bolena in a new production at the Opéra de Lausanne and in a return to the Badisches Staatstheater, the title role of Manon and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin at the Buxton International Festival, and she returned to the Teatro Massimo Palermo for Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle. In 2018, Shelley’s German house debut as Anna Bolena at the Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe was lauded as “something of a revelation . . . a superbly exciting performance . . . she proved herself a bel canto virtuoso . . . a singing tragedienne of the highest order.” (Rheinpfalz)

Shelley is a recent graduate of the International Opera Studio at the Opernhaus Zürich, where she made main stage role debuts as Musetta in a new production of La bohème and Micaëla in Carmen. She also created the leading role of Song-Lian in the world premiere production of Rote Laterne by Christian Jost and appeared as Maid Marian in Andreas Homoki’s Robin Hood.

Shelley made an unscheduled debut on opening night of the 2014 season at Santa Fe Opera when, as a member of the apprentice program, she stepped in to sing the role of Norina in the new Laurent Pelly production of Don Pasquale and went on to sing additional performances to acclaim. A graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, her performances there included Violetta in La traviata, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin. Additional scholastic roles include the title roles in Iolanta and Susannah, and the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Peabody Opera Theater.

Shelley has received an impressive number of honors and awards, including the Joan Sutherland Prize awarded by Richard Bonynge from the 2016 Veronica Dunne Competition, second place in the Dorothy Lincoln Smith, Giargiari Bel Canto, and Mario Lanza Competitions, and third place in the Concours International de Chant Marmandais. Her past prizes also include the Bertha Koempel Award from the Liederkranz Foundation, grants from the Career Bridges and the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundations, and the Met Regional Auditions.

Shelley holds an undergraduate degree from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Vocal Performance, a Master’s degree from Temple University, and additional studies at the Academy of Vocal Arts. In addition, she spent two years of vocal study and role preparation with Mirella Freni at the Centro Universale di Bel Canto (CUBEC) in Modena.