Jennifer Mitchell Theatre Resume

Jennifer is an active opera and musical theatre performer in the Bay Area. She made her solo debut with the San Francisco Symphony as the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, conducted by Andràs Schiff, in 2019.  Operatic credits include Josephine (HMS Pinafore) and Patience (Patience) at Lamplighters Music Theatre; Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Frasquita cover/chorus at Opera San José; Atalanta (Serse) with the Handel Opera Project; Despina (Così fan tutte in English translation), Sylviane/Dodo (The Merry Widow) and Ida (Die Fledermaus) at Pocket Opera; Annina (La traviata) with Livermore Valley Opera. Jennifer’s performance as Patience appears on the Lamplighters’ recording of the operetta and is available on the Lamplighters website and on Spotify. Jennifer is also in her 5th season as professional chorister with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, and she has appeared as a soloist with Masterworks Chorale for several programs, most recently as the soprano soloist in Fauré’s Requiem.

Jennifer’s musical theatre roles include Phoebe (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) at Lamplighters Music Theatre; Mrs. Nordstrom Cinderella (Into the Woods), Marian (The Music Man) and Laurey (Oklahoma!) at Broadway by the Bay; Johanna(Sweeney Todd) at Hillbarn Theatre; Laurey (Oklahoma!), Belle (Beauty and the Beast) and Cosette (Les Misérables) at Woodminster Summer Musicals; Priest/Ensemble (Jesus Christ Superstar – all female production) at Ray of Light Theatre; Catherine Hastings (A Christmas Carol) at Center REPertory Company; Rosabella (The Most Happy Fella) and Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof) at Cinnabar Theater; Clara (The Light in the Piazza) and Julie Jordan (Carousel) with Spreckels Theatre Company; Marsinah (Kismet in Concert), Kitty Verdun (Where’s Charley?), and Polly Browne (The Boy Friend) with 42nd Street Moon; and Gerda in the workshop of San José Repertory Theatre’s new musical adaptation of The Snow Queen. Her performances in The Most Happy Fella, The Light in the Piazza, and The Boy Friend earned Jennifer nominations from the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for Best Principal Actress in a Musical. Jennifer also had the opportunity to play Sophie in Terence McNally’s play Master Class at the Jewel Theater Company, and she played Snow White at San Francisco’s iconic Beach Blanket Babylon in 2016-17.

Critical acclaim for Jennifer’s performances:

  • “Soprano Jennifer Mitchell and mezzo-soprano Margaret Lisi joined forces for a sumptuous account of the duet ‘Ich harrete des Herrn.'” (Joshua Kosman, San Francisco Chronicle review of San Francisco Symphony’s performance of Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, February 2019)
  • “The vocal resources could not have been more stimulating […] Soprano Mitchell came off in splendid style.” (Stephen Smoliar, The Rehearsal Studio review of Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang)
  • “From the moment she appears and sings, “I cannot tell what this love may be,” Jennifer Mitchell as Patience proves her ability to skip easily, lightly, and with full gaiety through her sung notes, jumping to the high note challenges Sullivan has provided her with true clarity and purity.” (Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys about Lamplighters Music Theatre’s 2017 production of Patience)
  • “Jennifer Mitchell as Julie Jordan conveyed a wistful hope, supported by an angelic voice that brought the score to life. Her If I Loved You was ethereal in its beauty,” (Alexa Chipman, Imagination Lane Reviews).
  • Her performance of Polly Browne was described as “effervescent” by Cindy Warner of the SF Examiner.
  • “With her exquisite voice and honest stage presence, charming Jennifer Mitchell as the grown-up Cosette makes credible the instantaneous bond of love between her and Marius.” (Paul Myrvold).

Jennifer has participated in several educational programs to introduce children to opera. She is part of San Francisco Opera Guild’s Opera à la Carte program in the fall of 2019, in which she plays Mabel in an abridged Pirates of Penzance. She has performed with Opera San José’s educational outreach program for several years: she played Rosina in their production of The Barber of Seville, which she also performed with Starting Arts’ outreach program and West Bay Opera’s Opera in the Schools program. Past roles with Opera San José’s outreach are The Soprano in Mozart Magic and Lucy in The Billy Goat’s Gruff. 

An alumna of San José State University, Jennifer completed her Master’s in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Layna Chianakas. She graduated cum laude from Wellesley College with degrees in Music and Italian. She is currently a student of Dr. Julia Nielsen.

In addition to performing, Jennifer maintains a busy private voice studio (see Voice Studio page for more information); she is also an adjunct Lecturer in Voice at San José State University, a member of the SF Bay Area Chapter of NATS, and a resident teacher for iSing Silicon Valley. Previous teaching experience includes TheatreWorks summer camp programs, Lareen Fender’s Ballet School, and Broadway by the Bay.