Janani Sridhar made headlines as the first Singaporean to win the top prize at the Llangollen International Musical Eistedfodd. The competition, commonly billed as "The Musical Olympics" is held in Wales and had her competing against over 6,000 other global competitors.

Janani was the first singer to have received the HSBC Youth Excellence Award, and her debut recital, Janani @ Esplanade, raised over $150,000 for the President's Star Charity. In her native country, Janani has performed several times with the Singapore Lyric Opera, and had the honor of singing the national anthem, "Majulah Singapura" at the internationally broadcast, inaugural Formula One Grand Prix night race which was held in Singapore. 

At home in opera, Janani has performed various operatic roles with renowned companies including Singapore Lyric Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera NEO, Toledo Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, LOLA,and Fort Worth Opera. Some of her operatic roles include: Ortlinde (Die Walküre), Micaëla (Carmen), Alice (Falstaff), Rusalka (Rusalka), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Lucia (The Rape of Lucretia), Musetta (La Boheme), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Violetta (La Traviata), La Bergère and La Chatte (L'Enfant et les Sortilèges), Mrs. Sem (Noye’s Fludde), Clorinda (Cendrillon), and Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann).

Well versed in concert repertoire, Janani has performed in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9,  Schubert’s Mass No.2, Mahler’s Symphony No.8, Bach's Cantata No. 140, and Rutter's Gloria. Additionally, she has also collaborated with several orchestras internationally including the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Orchestra of the Music Makers, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Stony Brook Baroque Players, Des Moines Metro Opera Festival Orchestra, Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, Salt Marsh Opera Orchestra, Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, and New England Symphonic Ensemble.

As a passionate proponent of contemporary music, Janani has premiered “this is us” and Moments Near New York by composer Evette Tuáfek, and the role of the soprano in A Child’s Requiem by Steven Sametz. She was also selected to be a part of Fort Worth Opera's Frontiers festival which showcases new operatic works, and had the pleasure of performing in Behold the Man, and The Hatfield-McCoy Triptychs. Janani also had the immense honor of creating the role of the Manager in the world premiere of Yeltsin in Texas! by Evan Mack and Joshua McGuire.

Active on the competition circuit, some of Janani’s competition credits include, the Bel Canto Award in the Orpheus Vocal Competition, Regional Finalist Award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 3rd place in the Five Towns Music and Arts Foundation Vocal Competition, 3rd place in New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Competition, 1st place in University of Connecticut Concerto Competition, Amy Jane Cohen Encouragement Award in Opera Connecticut's Vocal Competition , 3rd place in the National Opera Association Vocal Competition, Young Artist Award in the Harold Haugh Competition, 1st place in the Youth Asian Music Competition, Gold with Distinction in the Youth Asian Music Competition, 1st place in the 58th International Llangollen Musical Eistedfodd, and 1st place in the Young Singer of the Year Awards.

Sought after as a pedagogue, Janani has taught in Singapore, New York, Connecticut, Texas, and Louisiana. Her students have received full marks in statewide music examinations, achieved top rankings in music competitions, and won chairs in both regional and statewide choirs. Janani has served as an adjudicator for the Texas Private School Music Educators Association, and National Association of Teachers of Singing, as well been invited to present at conferences, and speak on panels as an industry professional. Her previous teaching appointments include Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Centenary College of Louisiana. Janani is thrilled to serve as the Voice Area Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Voice at DePauw University.

Janani holds a Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University. Her 2021-2022 season performances include: “Laudate Dominum” from Vesperae solennes de confessore, K.339, a performance of Micaëla’s aria from Carmen as part the Metropolitan Opera Guild’s Masterly Singing Series, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, a concert of operatic and musical theatre repertoire with Salt Marsh Opera, and the lead soprano role in the workshop of the contemporary opera Good Country, with LOLA in Austin, TX.

Some of Janani’s recent performances include: her debut at Carnegie Hall in Poulenc’s Gloria, Scarlatti’s Christmas Cantata, Bach’s Coffee Cantata, and a series of recitals in Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, and Louisiana.

This season, Janani will be performing Britten’s Les Illuminations, and Siete canciones populares españolas in concert with string orchestra, as well as the soprano soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. She will also be giving recitals in Kentucky and Indiana, which will showcase song repertoire by composers of colour. This summer, Janani was thrilled to be part of Cincinnati Song Initiative’s inaugural program, The Fellowship of the Song. Janani was one of five singers selected to be part of this residency. She was also excited to join Charlottesville Opera as an Ader Emerging Artist, singing the role of Eulalie Shinn.

During her free time, Janani enjoys baking, reading, and ballroom dancing.

Reviews