Isola Jones facts for kids
Isola Jones (born December 27, 1949) is an American opera singer known for her beautiful mezzo-soprano voice. A mezzo-soprano is a female singer whose voice is lower than a soprano but higher than a contralto. She performed at the famous Metropolitan Opera for 16 years and has sung with many opera groups across the U.S. and in other countries.
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About Isola Jones
Isola Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois. She has a mixed heritage, including African American and Cherokee roots, as well as European ancestry. She went to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she earned her college degree. A famous singer named Leontyne Price was one of her biggest musical inspirations.
Starting Her Opera Journey
After college, Isola Jones joined the Chicago Symphony Chorus. In 1975, she was the backup singer for Yvonne Minton in a big musical piece called the Verdi Requiem. Over the next two years, she sang in two operas: Der Fliegende Holländer in Chicago and Porgy and Bess in Cleveland.
Singing at the Metropolitan Opera
In 1977, Isola Jones joined the Metropolitan Opera (often called "the Met"), which is one of the most famous opera houses in the world. Her first role there was Olga in Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin.
She sang at the Met for 16 seasons, performing in more than 500 shows! In her very first year at the Met, she sang the part of Maddalena in Rigoletto. This performance was even shown live on TV. Later, she appeared in 10 more "Live from the Met" TV broadcasts, letting many people enjoy her singing from home.
Other Performances and Teaching
Isola Jones has also performed with many other opera companies. These include the Arizona Opera, Baltimore Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Dallas Opera, and Seattle Opera. She has also sung at special events like the Spoleto Festival and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
In 1999, she started teaching music at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. A special opera called Guadalupe, Our Lady of the Roses was written just for her to sing the main role. She even helped write one of the songs for it! The music for this opera was composed by James DeMars from Arizona State University. The recording of this opera was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2010.
Isola Jones continues to perform and teach music today. She recently completed more studies at Arizona State University and is now known as Dr. Isola Jones.
