Eaglen, Jane

Eaglen, Jane, remarkable English soprano; b. Lincoln, April 4, 1960. She was a student of Joseph Ward at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (1978–83). In 1984 she made her debut at the English National Opera in London as Lady Ella in Patience, where she served as principal soprano until 1991. She made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Berta in La Barbiere di Siviglia in 1986. After singing Mimi at the Scottish Opera in Glasgow in 1988, she returned there to sing Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in 1991. She first appeared at the London Promenade Concerts as Sieglinde in Act III of Die Walküre in 1989. Following her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1993 as Donna Anna, she made first appearances at Milan’s La Scala as Brunnhilde in Die Walküre, the Seattle Opera as Norma, and the Opera de la Bastille in Paris as Amelia in 1994. In 1995 she sang Brunnhilde in Die Walküre at the San Francisco Opera. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Donna Anna on Jan. 18, 1996, and appeared that same season at the Lyric Opera in Chicago as Brunnhilde in its mounting of the Ring cycle and at the Seattle Opera as Turandot. She made her first appearance with the N.Y. Phil, on May 22, 1997, singing the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde under Masur’s direction. That same year she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Turandot. Her return to the Seattle Opera to sing Isolde on Aug. 1,1998, proved a triumph. In 1999 she returned to the San Francisco Opera and won further acclaim for her portrayal of Bunnhilde in the Ring cycle. Eaglen’s outstanding vocal gifts have rendered her one of the leading Wagnerian interpreters of her era.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire