Bridges J'Nai
Mezzosoprano
Grammy-Award winning American mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, known for her “plush-voiced mezzo-soprano” (The New York Times), and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker) has been heralded as “a rising star” (Los Angeles Times), gracing the world’s top opera and concert stages.
Bridges is a leading figure in classical music’s shift toward conversations of inclusion and racial justice. The 2021-’22 season alone has seen Bridges’ ascent into the sphere of new music taking on several world-premieres, but continuing to explore the traditional roles. She is one of Kennedy Center’s NEXT 50 leaders of cultural diversity.
Bridges’ career highlights include receiving the Richard Tucker Career Grant and Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and she is a Marian Anderson award winner. Bridges was invited to perform at the National Library of Congress to honor legendary fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg as a recipient of the 2022 Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award. She made her anticipated Metropolitan Opera debut in the Grammy-nominated production of Ahknaten by Phillip Glass. Bridges has performed all over Europe and North America.
In the 2022-‘23 season, Bridges performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, returns to Chicago Lyric Opera and debuts at Arena di Verona as Carmen; she will make her greatly anticipated Seattle Opera debut in a concert performance of Samson et Dalilah.
