— Philadelphia Orchestra, March 2022
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— Boston Lyric Opera, May 2019
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— Metropolitan Opera, February 2019
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— Opera Theatre of St. Louis, June 2018
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— Paris & London, December 2016
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— Metropolitan Opera, October 2015
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"Emotion suffused every moment of her eloquent, impassioned New York debut recital. She met with elegance and confidence all the challenges of a varied program... (She) has it: an honesty and assurance so impressive that you want to call it bravery. Hers is better than a good voice; it's an interesting one."
— The New York Times
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"In a time that many young singers sound polished but somewhat monochromatic, no one seems to have told Jennifer Johnson Cano to play it safe. Ms. Cano’s highly individual Orphée was a star turn of significant proportions. Her burnished mezzo has it all: size, color, agility, evenness and individuality."
— Opera Today
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"Soloist Jennifer Johnson Cano’s performance Thursday was one of those instances where I almost sensed mouths dropping open in amazement. Her voice seemed to hold the packed house still for four and a half minutes."
— Atlanta Journal Constitution
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"It is impossible to forget the sound of Jennifer Johnson Cano’s gorgeous mezzo-soprano voice. Her instrument rang with perfectly balanced chiaroscuro. Championing new music with precision while exhibiting prominence in traditional song repertoire, Johnson Cano’s performance was dynamic and exquisite."
— Palm Beach Daily News
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"(Cano) is now on my short list of singers to follow. Closely."
— David Patrick Stearns,
Philadelphia Inquirer
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“Dramatic intelligence and imagination suffused every note of Ms. Johnson Cano’s performance. Endowed with an attention-grabbing dark mezzo, its depths bracing like strong coffee, she seems to thrive in the role of a storyteller.”
— New York Times
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“She moves her lines with purpose: each phrase builds on the last. “
— Opera News
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"With the first notes of Porpora's ultra-baroque homage to Jove, it was obvious that Cano has a voluminous voice with remarkable agility in her higher range and a molten contralto quality lower down, gliding between these registers with seeming ease."
— The Washington Post
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“Her fresh, fruity tone was a pleasure to hear; so was her effervescent phrasing. She rather gilded the lily with her “joyful” deportment in the Laudamus Te movement: the smile in her voice so completely expressed the sentiment that no special gestural emphasis was needed.”
— Opera News
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“Cano was excellent, letting the music flow with a pure sound and just the slightest inflection, sounding like a woman who knows the power of her beauty and wields it with honesty and love.”
— New York Classical Review
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“Her voice is radiant and intense, rich in the lower part of her range, bright and precise at the top, with astonishing evenness throughout. For such a commanding singer she also cuts a remarkably approachable persona on stage, and has an uncanny ability to discern and embody the character of each song.”
— Boston Globe
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"She’s a voice, talent and temperament to be reckoned with."
— Seen and Heard International
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"The finale benefited from the riveting contributions of soloist Jennifer Johnson Cano. Her deep, velvety mezzo and impassioned phrasing gave Jeremiah's warnings such startling immediacy that I wouldn't have been surprised to see people in the hall ducking under their seats"
— The Baltimore Sun
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“Her voice seems to come out of a happy nexus of heart, soul and brain that lends an authoritative weight to every note.”
— The New York Times
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“Cano’s lovely mezzo timbre, affinity for Baroque style and emotional projection of the text were a real luxury.”
— South Florida Classical Review
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“She moved from temptress to shy maiden with aplomb, her warm, freely-produced voice always hinting that there is much more power in reserve, should the occasion warrant it. Carmen, Amneris—watch out for this mezzo!”
— San Diego Story
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“She was all fire and passion.”
— Arts Fuse
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"Jennifer Johnson Cano brought a fresh, appealing mezzo to the songs, conveying their tender romanticism in a way the visual presentation deliberately undermined."
— The Chicago Tribune
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"Those who missed Monday's recital by the young mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater lost a rare opportunity to hear a fine talent with a promising future right at her doorstep."
— The Washington Post
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"Jennifer Johnson Cano brought a sincerity and emotional depth to these beautiful songs that made the texts' occasional excesses seem completely irrelevant."
— Chicago Classical Review
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“Jennifer Johnson Cano was truly stellar. She, in fact, was the complete package, a voice agile and forceful, spacious and laden with emotion. Whether proclaiming "good tidings to Zion" or distilling the anguish of Christ's rejection, she was a poignant medium.”
— The Plain Dealer
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