Biography in English 🇺🇸

Hailed by the New York Times for her “agile coloratura and shimmering sound” Italian-American soprano Jessica Rose Cambio is thrilling audiences and critics alike with her “full-bodied Italianate soprano” (WQXR New York) and “depth, oozing sex appeal, sudden and disarming flashes of vulnerability, impressive development of the pathos of the character throughout, powerful soprano in top form vocally and largely at ease at the top and with something spicy in the colour of the voice that makes her genuinely exciting to hear” (Bachtrack London).

During Ms. Cambio’s 2023-2024 season she substituted for ailing colleagues in three separate productions throughout Germany; once as Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème with Volkstheater Rostock, as Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff with Theater Kiel on less than 24 hours' notice, and as Agnès Sorel in Tchaikovsky's Russian opera Орлеанская дева (The Maid of Orléans) with Saarländisches Staatstheater.

The 2022-2023 season included her German role debut as Chrysothemis in Richard Strauss' Elektra in the Giancarlo DelMonaco production as well as the title role in the World Premiere of Nestor Taylor's opera Eleni, based on the Nicholas Gage New York Bestseller about the immigration and execution of his mother Eleni Gaztoyianni during the Greek Civil War with Theater Erfurt. She also jumped in as Mimì in La Bohème in Volkstheater Rostock.

During the 2021-2022 season she performed her role debut as Agnès Sorel in The Maid of Orléans in the Domstufen Festspiele Erfurt, made a reprise as both the title role in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and as a jump-in as Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s La Traviata, sang role debuts as Giulietta in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann and Rosalinde in Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and debuted the title role in Verdi's Luisa Miller with Theater Erfurt. In addition to her Fest season, she also jumped in twice as Mimì in La Bohème with Staatstheater Meiningen and as Lucia in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Theater Osnabrück and performed in a Gala concert with the St. Galler Festspiele in Switzerland.

Previous engagements include the title role in Manon Lescaut with Oper Frankfurt, Alice Ford in Falstaff with Theater Osnabrück, a role debut as Liù in Turandot with Tulsa Opera, and over 50 performances of La Bohème with Semperoper Dresden, in Francesca Zambello's production at Royal Albert Hall, in the theaters of Como, Brescia, Pavia, Cremona, Knoxville, Sarasota, in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and on tour throughout Europe and Asia.

Other notable performances include Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci with both New York City Opera and New Orleans Opera, Violetta in La Traviata with Opera På Skäret in Sweden and West Green House Opera in London, Lina in Verdi’s Stiffelio, Giselda in I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Imogene in Bellini's Il Pirata, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Magda in La Rondine, Beatriz in Catán's La Hija de Rappaccini, and Monica in Respighi’s La Fiamma. Equally at home in the Belcanto repertoire as she is in Verismo, Ms. Cambio has made debuts in Lucia di Lammermoor, Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda with the Fondazione Arena di Verona, and Parisina d'Este with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

A seasoned concertist, she has performed at the homes of Giuseppe Verdi and Luciano Pavarotti, in Torino, Bologna, Torre del Lago, Modena, Rome, Helsinki, Stockholm, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Istanbul, Tirana, in London at Barbican Hall, in honor of the United Nations at Carnegie Hall, and for the Maserati Centennial in the Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. She has sung Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder and Respighi's Il Tramonto in concert, made her oratorio debut in Bach's Magnificat at the Duomo di Modena, and has been featured on WQXR, La Voce di New York, and Italy's RAI 3. 

Cambio has garnered prizes and grants in vocal competitions worldwide from organizations like the Richard Tucker, George London, Gerda Lissner, Licia Albanese-Puccini, Giulio Gari, Leiderkranz, and Georg Solti Foundations, Marie Kraja, Leyla Gencer, Loren Zachary Society, Anna Sosenko Assist Trust, and Opera Index. She was a finalist in the Voci Verdiane in Busseto and the Juliàn Gayarré in Pamplona, and a semi-finalist in Operalia in Verona and Quebec, Francisco Viñas in Barcelona, Dallas Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was recently awarded a grant from the National Organization of Italian-American Women for her outstanding professional studies in Italian Literature.

In addition to performing, Cambio conducts Masterclasses, has taught Classical Singing, Italian, English, and German at the International Vocal Arts Institute in New York, the Premiere Opera Vocal Arts Institute in Italy, and the Fundación Ibáñez-Atkinson in Santiago, Chile. She currently maintains her own private studio in Berlin and will join the faculty of the Berlin Opera Academy this summer. She holds a Master of Music from the University of Southern California, a Master of Arts in Italian Literature from Hunter College, and several post graduate certificates and honorary degrees from around the world. After many years in Italy as a pupil of world renowned sopranos Renata Scotto and Mirella Freni, she currently spends time in Rome under the guidance of Mariella Devia whenever possible.

Cambio is also the creator and host of Operina, a new opera podcast for kids, available on Spotify, Apple iTunes, and wherever you listen to your daily podcasts. She is currently in the midst of creating an A1/A2 Italian fusion course in collaboration with Giulia by Treccani.