Soprano Jacqueline Piccolino has been deemed by the San Francisco Chronicle “an artist to watch”with “impeccable technique and stage presence” and “precisely placed coloratura.” A San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship and Merola Program alum and a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Jacqueline’s recent engagements include her debut with Portland Opera in a concert of works by Puccini, and a return to Seattle Opera, where she performed the role of Woglinde in Das Rheingold with “incredibly full, entrancing, spinto-esque coloratura” (Northwest Reverb).
Jacqueline discovered opera as a high school junior, when her class attended a production of Madama Butterfly at the Lyric Opera of Chicago starring Patricia Racette.
“I’ve always loved singing,” she recalls. “I sang in church, performed in musicals, and was part of choirs. I even experimented with singing in rock bands for a while. The act of singing itself always intrigued me, but it wasn’t until I encountered this particular production that my interest in opera truly ignited. It was a turning point. I became fascinated by the extraordinary capabilities of the human voice, the sheer power and range it can express. And the music – it was unlike anything I’d ever heard before. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of vocal potential and artistry.”
Her parents wholeheartedly supported her pursuit of voice as a vocation. She says, “To this day, my parents are still my biggest fans. They always were there with me at every NATS or Classical Singer competition. They’ve always supported me no matter what challenges I‘ve encountered or success I’ve had in my life and career. They taught me that humility is the best approach to life, and to always be gracious for each opportunity to perform.”
After high school, Jacqueline attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music where she studied with Cynthia Haymon. Jacqueline credits Haymon as a great mentor in life who drew her into the pursuit of music making. “She showed me how to feel and connect with music in a way that I hadn’t before. She not only shaped my artistry, but she also played a transformative role in shaping who I am as a person, guiding me through both my musical journey and my personal growth.”
As a college sophomore, Jacqueline was accepted into the Studio Artist program at Wolf Trap Opera Company. Her junior year, she was invited to join San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, and was honored thereafter with an Adler Fellowship. “Before I had even graduated from college, I had made my debut on the San Francisco Opera stage,” she says. “Those four years were a whirlwind!”
Jacqueline is very grateful for her time in San Francisco, where she made her professional debut as Stella in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and sang First Lady in The Magic Flute, Lady Madeline in La chute de la maison Usher, Laura in Luisa Miller, 2nd Maid in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Clotilda in Norma, Mrs. Hayes inSusannah, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Arminda in La finta giardiniera. She also performed with San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra the role of Fannì in Rossini’s Cambiale di Matrimonio.
She furthered her training as a soloist in the Napa Festival del Sole’s Bouchaine Young Artist Concert Series, and a participant in the Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy.
All of Jacqueline’s training is paying off, as evidenced by recent successes. In addition to being named a National Semi-Finalist in the 2021 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she has earned awards from the Partners for the Arts Inc. Competition, American Opera Society of Chicago, Opera Awards Foundation, The American Prize in Vocal Performance, the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, the Musicians Club of Women in Chicago, the International Stanisław Moniuszko Competition, and from the Sullivan, Shoshana, and George London Foundations. She has also enjoyed engagements with companies including the Berkshire Opera Festival, Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Chicago Opera Theater, Quad City Symphony, the UC Davis Symphony, and the Johnstown Symphony.
In 2020, Jacqueline was looking forward to making her debut with Santa Fe Opera, where she was set to perform Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte and to cover the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka when everything shut down. Instead, she stayed in Chicago, where she and her husband – a trained chef – realized another dream of theirs, creating an outlet to showcase their talents in food and music. Thus, Culinary Crescendo was born: an event production company that provides high end catering curated around a musical program, from intimate dinner parties to large scale gatherings.
The company has proved to be the perfect side-hustle for Jacqueline, who feels at home in the event and service industry, her family owning one of the oldest floral shops in Chicago. She loves getting to create – and often perform in – programs that showcase her love of music, food, and design.
She is especially drawn to the warmth of the old world, Italian style. Jacqueline herself is a fluent Italian speaker, identifying strongly with Italian culture, captivated by the verismo sounds of Puccini and Verdi. She’s looking forward to this next phase of her career with Miguel Rodríguez and Athlone Artists, and is “truly impressed by Miguel’s deep understanding of and passion for the vocal art form.” Jacqueline says, “I’m excited to dive into new repertoire. It’s what brings me into focus and helps me feel fully present in music-making. In those moments, I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be—this is my calling.”
