JessDandy

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  • Contralto
  • Mezzo-Soprano

About Jess

Cumbrian born Jess Dandy is widely regarded as the foremost British contralto of her generation and has been praised for her velvety plangent timbre, and her artistic remarkable immediacy. She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she is now a Fellow.

In the 2025/26 season, Jess makes house debuts at the Salzburg Easter Festival as Floßhilde in Das Rheingold, at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Lady Toodle in Die Englische Katze, and later in the summer at The Grange Festival. On the concert platform, she appears in performances of The Dream of Gerontius with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Kazuki Yamada and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/Andrew Manze, Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Antony Hermus and Handel’s Messiah with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Eamonn Dougan, the Irish Baroque Orchestra/Peter Whelan and the Tampere Philharmonic/Matthew Halls.

Recent highlights include her return to the BBC Proms for Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles, Thomas Adès’s Totentanz with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester/Thomas Adès, Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with the Bergen Philharmonic/Sir Mark Elder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the BBC Philharmonic/John Storgårds, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Boston Symphony/Ludovic Morlot, Handel’s Messiah with the Tampere Philharmonic/Matthew Halls, and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Kristian Sallinen, among others.

Recent recital highlights include her return to the Oxford International Song Festival with Keval Shah for the programme Eternity in an Hour, a recital at Wigmore Hall with Dylan Perez, and a performance at the University of York with Ben Goldscheider, Fenella Humphreys, and Martin Roscoe, among others.

In 2021, Jess was shortlisted for a Royal Philharmonic Society Award in the category of Young Artist. She is a multi-faceted artist with a keen interest in ecology, body psychology and spirituality. She is the co-founder of SongPath, a mental health initiative creating musical walking trails in nature for better mental health. With composer Alex Mills, she developed the Music & Being Collective, an open laboratory space exploring music and our sense of self through interdisciplinary dialogue.

Jess is based in Cumbria, United Kingdom

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Contact

Grace Hewett

Grace Hewett

Assistant Artist Manager

Representation

Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt

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Season Highlights

Sep 2025
BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall
Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Ilan Volkov (conductor)
Nov 2025
Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich
Hans Werner Henze: Die Englishe Katze (Mrs Toodle) Katharina Wincor (conductor)
Nov 2025
Cadogan Hall, London
Elgar: Sea Pictures Antony Hermus (conductor) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Dec 2025
St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Handel: Messiah Peter Whelan (conductor) Irish Baroque Orchestra
Dec 2025
Tampere Hall, Finland
Bach: Christmas Oratorio Matthew Halls (conductor) Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra
Mar 2026
Salzburg Easter Festival
Wagner: Rheingold (Floßhilde)

Video

Audio

  • Elgar Sea Pictures with BBC Philharmonic - 14th May 2022
    Credit: BBC Philharmonic

Photos

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Selected Repertoire

Antonio Caldara

Caio Marzio Coriolano (title role)

Berlioz

Béatrice et Bénédict (Ursule)

Bizet

Carmen (title role)

Britten

Paul Bunyan Op. 17 (Alto in Quartet of the Defeated Blues)   •   Peter Grimes (Auntie/Mrs Sedley)   •   The Rape of Lucretia (Lucretia/Bianca)   •   Albert Herring (Florence Pike/Nancy/Mrs Herring)   •   The Little Sweep (Miss Baggott)   •   Noye’s Fludde (Mrs Noye)   •   A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hippolyta)   •   Death in Venice (German mother/strolling player)

Debussy

Pelléas et Mélisande (Geneviève)

Gluck

Orfeo ed Euridice (Orfeo)

Handel

Giulio Cesare (Cornelia)   •   Alcina (Bradamante)   •   Rinaldo (title role)   •   Radamisto (Zenobia)   •   Floridante (Elmira)   •   Ottone, re di Germania (Matilda)   •   Flavio, re de’ Longobardi (Teodata)   •   Rodelinda (Eduige)   •   Fernando, Re di Castiglia (Sancio)   •   Ariodante (Polinesso)   •   Serse (Amastre)

Hans Werner Henze

English Cat (Lady Toodle)

Humperdinck

Hänsel und Gretel (The Gingerbread Witch)

Janáček

The Diary of One Who Disappeared (Zefka)

Jonathan Dove

The Adventures of Pinocchio (Pigeon/Snail)

Josephine Stephenson

Three Lunar Seas (She) (created the role)

Monteverdi

L’incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia/Arnalta)   •   L’Orfeo (La Messaggiera)

Mozart

Die Zauberflöte (Dritte Dame)

Puccini

Suor Angelica (La Zia principessa)

Purcell

Dido and Aeneas (Dido/Sorceress)

Ravel

L’Enfant et les sortilèges (La tasse chinoise/Un pâtre)

Rossini

La Donna del lago (Malcolm)

Shostakovich

Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Op. 29 (Sonyetka)

Strauss

Ariadne Auf Naxos (Dryade)

Tippett

Midsummer Marriage (Sosotris)

Wagner

Das Rheingold (Erda/Fricka/Floßhilde)   •   Die Walküre (Fricka/Waltraute/Roßweise)   •   Götterdämmerung (Waltraute)   •   Zweite Norn/Floßhilde)

William Walton

The Bear (Popova)

Sample Programmes

  • Eternity in an Hour

    Indian and Western philosophies converse in this recital, in a fusion of cultures, perspectives and soundscapes. Commissioned for this year’s Festival, Indian- American composer Reena Esmail’s settings of Sanskrit verses from the Bhagavad Gita draw out the essence of Vedantic thought, and are interspersed with music from the canon of Lied repertoire, highlighting the ways in which Western and Eastern philosophies converge and diverge. Jess Dandy - contralto Kunal Shah - piano Reena Esmail - composer Benjamin Britten Proverb VII (from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake) Reena Esmail Gayatri Mantra Reena Esmail I Johannes Brahms Verzagen, op.72 no.4 John Dowland In darkness let me dwell Johannes Brahms O wüsst ich doch den Weg zurück, op.63 no.8 Benjamin Britten Batter my heart (from The Holy Sonnets of John Donne) Reena Esmail II Hugo Wolf Alles endet, was entstehet (from Drei Gedichte von Michelangelo) Franz Schubert Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D744 Reena Esmail III Olivier Messiaen Répétition planétaire (from Harawi) Elizabeth Poston Jesus Christ the Apple Tree Reena Esmail IV Franz Schubert Auflösung, D807 Hugo Wolf An die Geliebte Reena Esmail Gayatri Mantra Benjamin Britten Proverb VII (from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake)

  • In dark times will there be singing?

    Jess Dandy (contralto) Dylan Perez (piano) MEDTNER Winter Song Op. 13 No 1 SHOSTAKOVICH Six Poems of Marina Tsvetayeva Op. 143 (1973) CAPLET Les Prières MESSIAEN from Harawi - Chant d’amour et de mort La ville qui dormait, toi Bonjour toi, colombe vert Katchikatchi les étoiles Dans le noir TRAD. Tsvey Taybelech MAHLER Des Knaben Wunderhorn Ablösung im Sommer Urlicht Das himmlische Leben EISLER Spruch 1939 Das Lied vom Anstreicher Hitler Op. 41 No. 3 WEILL Wie lange noch? Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny: Alabama Song GLASS Wichita Vortex Sutra ALEX MILLS The Book of Hours In deep nights I believe in the night I love you, my darkness Encore - WEILL Lost in the Stars

  • Recital with Martin Roscoe, Fenella Humphreys and Ben Goldscheider

    Jess Dandy (contralto) Ben Goldscheider (french horn) Fenella Humphreys (violin) Martin Roscoe (piano) R. Schumann Adagio & Allegro Op. 70 C. Schumann Romances Op. 22 R. Schumann Widmung Op. 25/1 C. Schumann Liebst du um Schönheit Op. 12/2 C. Schumann Am Strande C. Schumann Ich stand in dunklen Träumen Op. 13/1 R. Schumann Stille Tränen Op. 35/10 Brahms Zwei Gesänge Op. 91 Interval C. Schumann Das ist ein Tag, der klingen mag Op. 23/5 R. Schumann Intermezzo Op. 39/2 Waldesgespräch Op. 39/ 3 C. Schumann Lorelei Op. 12 R. Schumann Venetianisches Lied I Op. 25 R. Schumann Requiem Op. 90/7 Brahms Horn Trio Op. 40

News

Press

  • St John Passion

    Turner Sims Concert Hall, Southampton
    Apr 2025

    • 'Von den Stricken' was taken at a lively speed, yet Jess Dandy really conveyed the impression that the words meant something to her. She sang with dark, veiled tone yet with vigour in the passagework and forming a lovely contrast in timbres with the oboes.

  • Brahms and the Schumanns Concert

    York University
    Mar 2025

    • The best was certainly kept until last. Jess Dandy is a fine talent and as a true contralto she is a rare bird, one to be carefully nurtured.

  • Solo Recital: "In the dark times will there be singing?"

    Wigmore Hall
    Jan 2025

    • In Shostakovich’s fitful, fragmented Six Verses for Marina Tsvetayeva, Dandy performed with such depth of tone and feeling she seemed possessed by the dissident Russian poet herself. By contrast, the French composer André Caplet’s settings of three well-known prayers ... reached for the heights, Dandy abandoning herself to their top notes like a saint in ecstasy... Messiaen’s celestial birdsong in selections from his Harawi, in which Dandy’s expertly pitched cries of “toi” (you) made the piano strings sing in sympathy.

    • If portrayal of light, darkness and all the shades in between is your aim, then there is no finer instrument than Dandy's voice for the job, and it was a joy to hear her in a programme that allowed the unveiling of all of its colours: Not content with simple musical dexterity, Dandy demonstrated a sure command of pronunciation in all of the languages (English, French, German, Russian, Yiddish) she sang in; the icing on the talent cake was her taking over tat the piano, while Perez spoke Ginsberg's poetry over the music.

  • Eternity in an Hour Recital

    Oxford Lieder Festival
    Oct 2024

    • Dandy’s performance of Esmail’s Godsongs was remarkable, not only because the vocal lines and her deeply expressive, richly hued contralto felt perfectly matched, but also because she seemed to embody the music, singing from a profound place. … Esmail’s blend of Indian and western classical styles felt integrated, exploiting the full range of Dandy’s voice, giving us drama and incantation

  • Mozart Requiem with Tampere Philharmonic

    Tampere Hall
    Nov 2023

    • Among the quality voices stood out, one possible future star, alto Jess Dandy. Her voice with a refined range and a fateful weightiness.

  • Handel's Samson with Academy of Ancient Music

    BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall
    Aug 2023

    • Dandy impressed with the sober, seriousness that she brought, allied to lovely dark, rich vocal tone including her fine chest register.

    • ...Jess Dandy bringing a rich, strikingly deep contralto to Micah

  • CPE Bach Heilig

    BBC Proms: Royal Albert Hall
    Aug 2023

    • The opening arietta for alto was sung by the peerless contralto Jess Dandy, whose rich tones and wonderfully solid chest voice made for one of the best moments in the concert.

  • [CD] Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14; Six Verses of Marina Tsvetayeva

    Jul 2023

    • Contralto Jess Dandy intuits and discloses the strength at the heart of the Six Poems of Marina Tsevateya, the symphony’s discmate, delivering the most opulent performance of this song cycle since Irina Bogacheva’s (latest reissue on Venezia CDVE00513). Her vocal effulgence in “To Anna Akhmatova” convinces one that, in music at least, hope can thrive in the midst of death – a surprising sentiment from the same composer whose penultimate symphony concluded with Rilke’s verses, “All-powerful is death … [it] awaits for us and thirsts for us—and weeps for us.” Perhaps Shostakovich was also aware of the poet’s more hopeful words to the young Franz Xaver Kappus: “The future stands still, but we move in infinite space.

  • Bach St Matthew Passion with Dunedin Consort

    Queen's Hall, Edinburgh
    Apr 2023

    • But the ultimate showstopper was surely alto Jess Dandy’s soul-stirring aria Erbarme dich, sung with melting warmth and impassioned amplitude in liquid partnership with lead violinist Huw Daniel’s exquisite obligato solo.

    • Jess Dandy who lived up to the description in her profile in the programme; her voice was “an instrument of velvety plangent timbre” and it was marvellous, for me the best voice of the night particularly in her aria ‘Erbarme Dich’.

  • Messiah with Academy of Ancient Music

    Barbican Centre
    Dec 2022

    • Contralto Jess Dandy brought a lovely seriousness and gravity to her performances. Dandy has a richly coloured voice and she clearly relished the opportunities to mine her strong lower register. In the name of colour, she did not hide changes of register but instead used this creatively. Her performances were characterised by a lovely well-modulated, shapely line, often enlivened by bouncing rhythms from the orchestra.

  • Recital with Martin Roscoe

    Wigmore Hall
    Jul 2022

    • Dandy has quite a distinctively direct, plangent tone quality to her voice, and throughout the recital I was struck by the real sculptural quality to her phrasing... Denn es gehet dem Menschen began dark and sober, serious indeed, though Dandy's intense phrasing was combined with a striking array of colours in her voice whilst the middle section was almost trenchant.... The songs were originally written for bass voice, but Dandy's tone quality and vocal style made the songs seem very fitting, and strikingly portentous.

  • Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique / Sir John Eliot Gardiner

    Carnegie Hall
    Feb 2020

Discography