DR. JENNIFER CAPALDO, mezzo soprano, is Assistant Professor of Voice in the Department of Music and Longwood University. Prior to joining the faculty at Longwood, Ms. Capaldo was Assistant Professor of Music at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati where she taught voice, a chamber vocal ensemble, and courses in music history and ear training. Dr. Capaldo is a new advisory member of the Board of Virginia’s chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).

 

Her talents have been showcased on stage in the United States, Italy, and Spain performing such roles as Isabella in l’Italiana in Algeri, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Florence Pike in Albert Herring, a critically acclaimed La zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare. Capaldo’s internationally celebrated concert engagements include such masterpieces as Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Falla’s El Amor Brujo as well as concert spirituals and works by Handel, Bach, Rossini, Mozart, and Bruckner, to name a few. In recital, she is a versatile artist specializing in the genres of Spanish art song, bel canto, and English art song. In 2011, Capaldo was named a Semi-Finalist in the Professional Women’s Art Song division of The American Prize competition.

A native of Iowa, Capaldo earned a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Northern Iowa in 1995. Following, she traveled to Cincinnati, OH where she began her graduate studies at the College Conservatory of Music and earned both a Master of Music in vocal performance and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance with a cognate in opera directing.

Capaldo was most recently seen in the title role of Isabella in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri for the 2011 Summer Garden Opera performance. Farmville’s new Summer Garden Opera Festival, as created by Harlan Horton, Esq. and colleague Dr. Christopher Swanson, is quickly turning into a celebrated artistic event in South Central Virginia utilizing musical professionals from the area as well as from other states. Her 2011-2012 engagements include numerous performances of various works by Elizabeth Vercoe: a September recital in Washington DC, October National Conference of CMS in Richmond, and a few performances of the highly regarded monodrama Herstory III: Jehanne de Lorraine. She will also appear both at Longwood and at the National CMS Conference with Evan Mack discussing and performing his compositions. In February, she will join Tad Hardin in a tour performance of her award-winning recital Spanish Art Song: The Inception. She will next be heard in concert at Longwood August 22 on the Faculty Gala to kick off the new academic year. as a soloist in the choral-orchestral performance of C.P.E. Bach’s Magnificat. Further details are available on the Calendar page of this site.