J’Nai Bridges Is Ready

Fist bumps and high fives don’t often follow a mezzo-soprano’s brisk high Cs or equally impressive delivery of low range, dusky, rich notes, but when ambition appears in the voice and form of J’Nai Bridges, it’s hard to resist. It’s well known that the 30-year-old opera singer gave up a promising basketball future — and likely, college scholarships —  when, during her senior year at the high school near her hometown of Lakewood, Washington, she turned from game-time hollering to more controlled vocalizations.

Bridges, even in a phone interview, projects athleticism. She demonstrates spontaneity, spring, rebound, accuracy, power, groundedness, focus, agility, and rapid responsiveness during a wide-ranging conversation.

Onstage Nov. 21 to Dec. 10 in the San Francisco Opera’s commissioned world premiere of John Adams’s Girls of the Golden West, Bridges appears as Josefa Segovia. The role of a Mexican barmaid around whom the production climaxes in a final scene she’s loathe to divulge, lest she spoil the surprise, is a solid fit.

“I love this role,” she says. “I directly relate to her because she’s a woman of color and the cards are stacked against her. I can’t say I would go where she goes in the end, but she observes, she tries to be the backbone, the [good] conscience of everyone. She tells other characters to heal their souls. I’ve felt that urge — to be the best person I can be while telling others to be the best they can be, which isn’t always welcome.”

Bridges says Josefa’s final aria is simultaneously exciting and intimidating. It requires her to sing with equal power in her highest and lowest ranges. The words and scene are highly emotional. She admits that she won’t release herself entirely to the moment. As is often the case for singers whose voices make them seem otherworldly, the truth spoken makes Bridges appear suddenly human: “Honestly, I can’t sing well when I’m crying. Can you?” she asks.

You can count on Bridges to be forthright, dynamic, and spirited when she attacks a role, from the “slides on me like a glove,” resiliency of Carmen to the tragic, emotionally demanding Lucretia in …

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