Annette Jahns

Annette Jahns (24 June 1958 – 11 September 2020) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto, and opera director, based at the Semperoper in Dresden. She appeared at international opera houses and festivals, with a focus on contemporary music including world premieres. She taught at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden.

Born in Dresden in 1958 to a family of opera singers, Jahns began her vocal studies in 1975 at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden; she attended master classes with Judith Beckmann, Ute Niss and Theo Adam. In 1982, she was accepted into the opera studio of the Semperoper, and from 1986, she was a member of the ensemble of the Semperoper. She appeared there, in addition to classical contralto and mezzo-soprano roles, in world premieres, such as Sarah Chatterton in Thomas Chatterton by Matthias Pintscher on 25 May 1998, repeated at the Volksoper in Vienna. She performed in the world premiere of Peter Ruzicka's Celan on 25 March 2001.

She portrayed the title role in Bettina by Friedrich Schenker to a libretto by Karl Mickel, premiered at the Theater im Palast in Berlin on 2 September 1987, and recorded. The opera's only singing role portrays Bettina von Arnim, who expresses herself through speaking, singing, whispering, and screaming. Since 1999, Jahns worked as a freelance singer and director. In 2000 and 2001, she appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as Grimgerde in Die Walküre. She directed Puccini's Madama Butterfly in Dresden in 2003.