As an artist, I choose to think and act boldly, communicate with integrity and intent, and collaborate to create a community of interpersonal and individual understanding. I am a singer of classical and contemporary dramatic musical art, and I inhabit our stories so to fill the world with exploration of human experience, emotion, and expression.
2025/26 bio
Acclaimed as a vocal emotional force American soprano Jessica Niles finds a niche for her artistic personality in the creation of new opera productions. Her 2025-26 season brings house debuts at Oper Köln as Zabelle in the German premiere of George Benjamin’s Picture a Day Like This, Dutch National Opera as Iris in Claus Guth’s production of Handel’s Semele, and Nederlandse Reisoper in a new production of Gerald Barry’s monodrama The Stronger. Returning to the Bayerische Staatsoper, Jessica makes her role debut of Morgana in a new production of Handel’s Alcina.
In her 2024-25 season she performed the title role in a new production of Handel’s Partenope in her house debut at Oper Frankfurt, and returned to La Monnaie / De Munt to premiere I Grotteschi, a two-part drama distilling the three surviving operas of Monteverdi. Jessica made her debut at La Monnaie / De Munt in 2023 creating the role of Sandra under the direction of Marie-Eve Signeyrole in Bernard Foccroulle’s climate-crisis opera Cassandra. The success of the production brought Jessica to reprise Cassandra for her house debut at the Berlin Staatsoper in 2025 and nomination for “Best World Premiere” at the International Opera Awards 2024. At the Bayerische Staatsoper Jessica premiered Claus Guth’s 2023 production of Handel’s Semele as Iris where she “provided much of the show’s levity…through musical delivery and physical comedy” (New York Times), the award-winning 2023 production of War and Peace, Marie-Eve Signeyrole’s 2022 production of Haydn’s L’infedeltà delusa as Sandrina where she was hailed by multiple critics as the highlight of the evening, and a 2022 production of Georg Friedrich Haas’ overtone series opera Thomas. Additional performed standard repertoire includes Adina L’elisir d’amore, Belinda Dido and Aeneas, Clorinda La Cenerentola, Echo Ariadne auf Naxos, Junger Hirt Tannhäuser, Marzelline Fidelio, Musetta La Bohème, Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro, Voce dal Cielo Don Carlo, and Zerlina Don Giovanni.
In 2024, Jessica made her Salzburger Festspiele debut as Alexandra in Krzysztof Warlikowski’s award-winning production of Weinberg’s The Idiot, and reprised Echo Ariadne auf Naxos at the 2024 Hong Kong Arts Festival on tour with the Bayerische Staatsoper. Recent concert and recording collaborations include Mendelssohn’s Elias with the Bayerische Rundfunk, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Armenian National Philharmonic, Handel’s Messiah with the Hallé Orchestra, chamber works by Gloria Coates with the Münchener Kammerorchester, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Vivaldi’s In furore with Les Arts Florissants. Jessica was featured in the 2021 Internationale Händel-Festspiele reprising Armida Rinaldo, and with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie brought her semi-staged portrayal of Handel’s Aminta e Fillide to the 40th annual Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie, The Queen’s Theatre at The Royal Palace of Versailles, the Musée des Impressionnismes, Festival Castell de Peralada, and multiple venues across New York City.
Jessica Niles holds three degrees from The Juilliard School and was a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper Opernstudio from 2021-23. She has received prestigious awards including the 2023 Festspielpreis by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Münchner Opernfestspiele and multiple commencement awards for her leadership and achievements at Juilliard. During her time in New York City, Jessica began exploring using the operatic voice in contemporary and collaborative settings, regularly premiering her colleagues’ compositions including her first commission The Opposite of Loneliness: A Chamber Piece for soprano and string quartet by Benjamin Wenzelberg, dedicated to the activist, playwright, journalist, and author Marina Keegan. On international tour with Les Arts Florissants, she met double-bassist and composer Doug Balliett and later premiered his chamber opera Gawain and the Green Night with baroque ensemble ACRONYM. In the following years, she regularly sang Balliett’s weekly-composed cantatas as an artist in residence. Combining movement and voice, Jessica performed Meredith Monk’s choreographed work Wa-lie-oh coached by Janis Brenner, a previous member of Meredith Monk’s Vocal Ensemble, and collaborated with dance company Alessandra Corona Performing Works (ACPW) performing a fusion of Handel’s Messiah with choreography. In the visual arts, Jessica collaborated with composer Manuel Sosa and painter Laura Karetzky in recording vocals for a new composition/art exhibition at Brooklyn’s BRIC House. Jessica made her Carnegie Hall debut performing Handel’s Israel in Egypt featuring Syrian-Armenian visual artist Kevork Mourad, and continues to prioritize the creative and innovative elements of her work. Jessica is currently based in Munich where she lives with her cat, Mochi.
Photography by Polina Ivanova Studio