Profile of Jane Eaglen on Famous Like Me

Jane Eaglen (born April 4, 1960) is an English operatic (Wagnerian) soprano.

Eaglen has become known for her portrayal of Brünnhilde in Wagner's Ring cycle and Bellini's Norma. Her first recording featured these contrasting roles by presented Wagner and Bellini scenes and arias.

Eaglen was born in Lincoln, England and started piano lessons at the age of five. Her piano teacher suggested that she take voice lessons, which she did for a year with a local teacher. Eaglen relates that her teacher predicted that she would someday sing Brünnhilde and Norman, though she did not fully appreciate what this meant at the time.

Eaglen was turned down by the Guildhall School of Music but Joseph Ward, a professor at the Royal Northern College of Music, recognized her potential upon the eighteen-year-old's audition. Ward taught her the style of Bellini and Wagner, though she did not possess the necessary vocal range to sing much of their soprano repertoire at the time.

In 1984, she joined the English National Opera. She mostly received minor roles there, though she performed the role of Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana to great acclaim.

Eaglen received acclaim for two songs she sang in the soundtrack for the popular 1995 film adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The songs were musical recitals of two poems, "Weep You No More Sad Fountains" (author unknown) and "The Dreame" (Ben Jonson). The soundtrack enjoyed great commercial and critical success, being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score. This success brought her to the attention of the wider musical world.

Eaglen broke into the major opera scene when she was cast as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni at the Scottish Opera. She went on to sing Tosca and Norma with that company.

Eaglen sang her first Brünnhilde with the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1996. Her first Isolde came in 1998 with the Seattle Opera, a company she has returned to consistently. She repeated the role in 1999 in Chicago and in 2000 at the Metropolitan Opera.

She also plays many of the leading roles in the standard Italian repertoire, including Turandot, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

Eaglen is equally at home on the concert stage and has recorded, among others, Verdi's Requiem. She has an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. Her 2002 recording of Tannhäuser received a Grammy Award in 2003 for Best Opera Recording.

She now makes her home in Seattle with her husband, Bryan Lyson. Eaglen gave humorous insight into her own personality by revealing that she prepares for her performances by listening to the pop music singer Meat Loaf.

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