Emily Michiko Jensen
Soprano
About the Artist
Praised for her "Theatrical instincts and intriguingly versatile instrument" (ArtsImpulse Boston)
Jiyang Chen photography
Japanese-American soprano Emily Michiko Jensen recently made her role & house debut at Hawaii Opera Theatre as Mimi in their production of La bohème. She then made another La bohème role & company debut as Musetta with the Borderland Arts Foundation.
She joined to Boston Lyric Opera to cover Cio-cio-san in their new production of Madama Butterfly (fall 2023). During that time, she was a part of their esteemed Emerging Artist program for the 2023/2024 season. She was also a Guest Artist in the BLO gala for the Orfeo Society and Goldovsky Society last summer.
She is a 2023 recipient of the Olga Forrai Foundation career grant.
In the summer of 2022 season, she joined Chautauqua Opera as an Apprentice Artist, where she covered the title role of Tosca. She sang Angel More in Thomson's The Mother of Us All while covering Susan B Anthony. She participated in the workshop of Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros' new opera The House on Mango Street as Cathy, Queen of Cats, at the end of the season.
Ms. Jensen was a semi-finalist for Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition at Opera San José during the spring 2022 competition season.
She was previously a member of the Artists in Residence program at Pensacola Opera, where she sang the role of First Lady while covering Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. She also covered Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. She returned as a guest artist in May of 2022 & September 2022 for their fundraising galas.
In the 2020/2021 season, Emily joined Florentine Opera Company as the Soprano Baumgartner Studio Artist. She made her company & role debut in the Spring Showcase production of Kurt Weill's Mahagonny: Ein SongSpiel as Jessie.
Prior to COVID cancellations, Ms. Jensen was also contracted to sing Countess Ceprano in Florentine Opera's production of Rigoletto during the fall (2020). In the spring (2021), she was scheduled to sing the role of Maguelonne while covering the title role of Viardot's Cendrillon as part of a double bill presented with Ravel's L'enfant et les Sortilèges. She was also set to cover the role of Mimì in La bohème
Spring 2020, Ms. Jensen made her role debut as the title role in Suor Angelica at the Indiana University Opera Theatre where she began pursuing a Performance Diploma as an Associate Instructor scholarship recipient. She also performed Samuel Barber's cycle "Despite and Still" in recital with Daniel Overly.
In 2019, Ms. Jensen returned to the Boston Opera Collaborative to make her second role debut with the company as Donna Anna in their production of Don Giovanni, and appeared as a guest artist in concert at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts. She was selected as a finalist for the 2018 McCammon Voice Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.
In fall 2017, Ms. Jensen joined Sarasota Opera as an Apprentice Artist and made her debut with the company during its winter season, performing under the batons of Maestro Victor DeRenzi and Maestro David Neely. She was previously a Studio Artist at Chautauqua Opera, where, in 2016, she sang the role of 2nd Soprano in Missy Mazzoli’s Song from the Uproar and covered Annina in La Traviata with Maestro Steven Osgood. She returned the following season to cover the role of Soprano 2 in Hydrogen Jukebox.
In the 2015–2016 season, Ms. Jensen made her company debut with Boston Opera Collaborative as Marguerite in Faust. During the summer, she performed the role of Science in the Pittsburgh SummerFest’s world premiere of Gilda Lyon’s A New Kind of Fallout.
Jiyang Chen photography
Previous roles include Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Foreign Woman in The Consul, Suzel in L’amico Fritz, Governess in The Turn of the Screw, and Tiny in Paul Bunyan. Other engagements have included selections as Ilia in Idomeneo, Mimì in La Bohème, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Zdenka in Arabella, Alma in Summer and Smoke, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.
Her studies have brought her to the Académie internationale d’été de Nice (France), Freie Universität (Berlin, Germany), and Centro Studi Italia (Urbania, Italy). She hopes to return to Europe one day to continue to build her repertoire and fuel her interest in languages.
Originally from San Diego, California, Ms. Jensen received a Graduate Diploma and Master of Music in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory. She holds a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from the Eastman School of Music.
She attended Indiana University as a Performance Diploma candidate before beginning her work as a young artist.