Jennifer Johnson Cano’s portrayal of Michele in the recent premiere of The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera earned her accolades from The New York Times, which noted how she “voluptuously captured” the pain and strength of her character; Musical America called her a “standout” and The Wall Street Journal described her as “riveting.”  Opera Today noted her “substantial, creamy mezzo-soprano” and called Cano’s arias in The Righteous “flawless combinations of radiant, poised, attractive singing invested with heartfelt delivery.” Opera News has described her as a “matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.”

In the summer of 2024, Cano creates the role of Michele in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous with Santa Fe Opera. Her 2024/25 season highlights include roles in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s concert productions of Wagner’s Ring cycle under Fabio Luisi; Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Haydn’s Mass in Time of War at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck; Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Handel and Haydn Society in Boston; and holiday performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Cincinnati Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony. 

A native of St. Louis, Cano earned degrees from Rice University and Webster University, where she was honored as a distinguished alumna and commencement speaker in May 2017. Her debut recital recording with pianist Christopher Cano, Unaffected: Live from the Savannah Voice Festival,
was recorded live and unedited. She sings as a soloist on a live recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and in Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She also recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble. 

Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Among her honors are Winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, a Sara Tucker Study Grant, a Richard Tucker Career Grant, and a George London Award.