Shannon Jennings brings mermaid magic to Opera Orlando concert series
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Shannon Jennings grew up with Ariel.
“I’m definitely a Disney child,” says the soprano, who was born in Winter Park, raised in Casselberry and graduated from Lyman High School in Longwood. “I absolutely grew up on ‘The Little Mermaid,'” loving singing along with Jodi Benson,” who voiced the cartoon’s title character.
Jennings soon will return to Central Florida as part of Opera Orlando’s annual Summer Concert Series, which takes place on three Sundays in August at the University Club in Winter Park.
Her performance plays with the mermaid idea; it’s titled “A Siren’s Song.” And the concert is designed to whet (or should that be “wet” when speaking of mermaids?) your appetite for the opera company’s production of “Rusalka” in its new season.
“Rusalka,” for the uninitiated, is a 1901 opera with music by Antonín Dvořák. Its story shares similar plot points with Hans Christian Andersen’s original story of the mermaid who falls in love with a human — the tale that inspired Disney’s happier, make that much happier, cartoon adaptation.
Jennings will play the title role in “Rusalka” in March, and has enjoyed comparing and contrasting that story with all the various mermaid legends.
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“I’ve been interested in hearing all the origin tales — and how much darker they were than Disney’s,” she says with a laugh.
Originally mermaids, or sirens, were villainous creatures who lured sailors to their death. Disney definitely gave the creatures a public-relations boost.
“Possibly because of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ mermaids are seen in a positive light now,” Jennings says.
Her concert will look at darker music about mermaids, the sea and the stars, as well as other songs that evoke the spirit of “Little Mermaid” stories — songs about losing one’s voice or taking the first steps into something new.
Putting together her own program brings a special kind of pleasure to Jennings, different than taking direction in an established show.
“It’s the element of creating,” she says. “You get to call many more of the shots. Sometimes it can be daunting but it can be liberating too.”
Jennings also calls the shots in her own beauty business, called Soprano Smooch, in which she sells products by SeneGence that she uses herself.
“It’s my side hustle that I enjoy when I’m not singing,” she says. “As part of being an opera singer, you have to be your own makeup artist” for concert appearances such as the one in Orlando.
While performing in the chorus of a production of “Candide,” she relates, her fellow singers were in awe of her lipstick — which could last the entire show.
“That was how I established my first customer base,” she says. The side business “has helped me financially, it’s helped my confidence.”
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Jennings comes from a family of musicians and music educators. Her mother, who is Cuban, was a church music director. Dad was a band director and trombone player who had her “buzzing my lips before I talked,” brothers were involved on the music scene, and Grandma was a violin teacher.
But it still came as a shock to her family, she says, when she decided to pursue opera.
Not that other music forms don’t captivate her, as well. That early love of Disney transitioned to an appreciation for Broadway-style showtunes. Nine years of trumpet playing made her passionate for jazz.
This season, another big project for Jennings is a performance of zarzuela music in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month with Kentucky Opera in Louisville.
She’s happy to share her Latina heritage through zarzuela, a Spanish-language art form akin to musical theater with high drama and comedy conveyed through dialogue and songs. It bothers her that zarzuela music isn’t more widely disseminated.
“It’s not that the music isn’t there; it’s not always made available,” she says. “I’ve put a whole program together, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of it.”
Zarzuela can vary regionally, as well, from its European origin in Spain to the various versions performed across Latin America.
“I could do a program on each region and still not cover all the repertoire out there,” she says. “It’s just a matter of getting it heard.”
But first, she has her summer concert in Central Florida, which will feature the famous aria from “Rusalka” as a preview of things to come.
“I’ve sung the aria for a lot of years,” Jennings says. “And I’m excited to sink my teeth into the role.”
Summer Concert Series
‘Art is Calling for Me’: Aug. 13. Soprano Marnie Breckenridge will sing an eclectic program of arias and art songs, from bel canto to contemporary. Later in the season, she’ll play the title role in Opera Orlando’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor.’
‘L’arte Nel Suo Mistero’: Aug. 20. Tenor Isaac Hurtado will perform as a prelude to his starring role as the Prince in ‘Rusalka’
‘A Siren’s Song’: Aug. 27. Soprano Shannon Jennings, who will play the title role in ‘Rusalka,’ will perform music inspired by the sea and the stars.
Where: All concerts take place at the University Club of Winter Park, 841 N. Park Ave.
Cost: $49 per concert; $125 for all three
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