Jenny Cresswell

A riveting and expressive artist, Jenny Cresswell is a sought-after teacher, singer, and public speaker. A veteran performer with Detroit Opera, she has been seen in Europera 3 by John Cage, as the Social Worker in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Mrs. Ford in Frida, and as Cherubino in Ragnar Kjartansson’s12-hour marathon work, Bliss. Her passion for American Opera has allowed her to embody such characters as Magda Sorel in The Consul, Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Charlotte in Before Breakfast, and Hannah After in As One. In 2021 she premiered the role of Olivia and served as co-librettist for INTERSTATE, a chamber opera by Kamala Sankaram, which was released as a film by Minnesota Opera and has appeared at numerous film festivals. Favorite roles from the traditional operatic canon include Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and Liù in Turandot.

In addition to the operatic stage, Jenny is an avid concert performer, serving as soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Poulenc’s Gloria, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and David Lang’s Simple Song #3, as well as themed recitals including NOIR: Celebrating the Femme Fatales of Old Hollywood, That’s Chicago, and The Murder Ballad Recital. A champion of new music, she has given the world premieres of works by Kamala Sankaram, Felix Jarrar, Mikhail Johnson, Susan J. Feingold, Kristi Fullerton, and Jason K. Nitsch.

An accomplished writer, she has authored libretti for multiple new works, published articles in Classical Singer, Middle Class Artist, and An Injustice! magazines, and had her poetry read as part of the WHY Collective’s performances in Time Square.

Dr. Cresswell is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she was named a Presidential Fellow by the Rackham Graduate School and a recognized Scholar by the Center for the Education of Women. Her work with INTERSTATE earned her the Social Impact Award from the School of Music, Theatre and Dance EXCEL Lab, and her dissertation, Murder, She Sang: A Progression on Sopranos and Death, has been called “groundbreaking” and an “outstanding contribution to the field.” She is the creator of the GoPractice App for singing technique and maintains an active presence on TikTok with a following over 30,000.