Mezzo-Soprano J'Nai Bridges Returns Home for 'Les Troyens'

It definitely started my relationship with the arts off strongly, because I was in the choir of the church that I grew up in, Allen AME Tacoma. I also played piano, so my parents threw me into piano lessons at the age of 4 or 5, because they identified an affinity towards music. My musical beginnings were very informed by my upbringing, my parents recognizing this gift in me by singing in church and having the support of my parents, my family, and loved ones, because music isn't always supported or seen as time well spent or even worth pursuing a career, which happened way down the line. I grew up in a very 'open-to-what-your-children-are-engaged-with' household.

A variety of influences. I really didn't grow up singing or listening, rather, to classical music. The extent of it was maybe NPR coming on every once in a while. But it wasn't something that we sat down and did. Opera wasn't a part of my household at all. We didn't know what that was, but I grew up on Motown, jazz, gospel, and R&B, the more popular styles of music. How I came to classical music, or classical voice rather — I studied piano and that introduced my ear to the classical world.

The voice didn't come in until a little bit later. I joined the Tacoma Youth Chorus when I was in middle school, and so I sang in the choir. We would sing songs in different languages, and my choir director noticed then that I was quick to pick up languages. I was shy, but very engaged. Then in high school, I joined the choir — I had to audition. and I got in. This was like, my junior year of high school, and my teacher noticed that my voice had blossomed, and I had a special gift so I started studying privately. The private lessons are where I really blossomed and took it to the next level. Though, I wouldn't be where I am today without a conflict that I had when I played basketball.

It was a very pivotal moment and traumatic, actually, back then. But basically, my basketball coach was really upset with me that I came late to a game after having finished a choir rehearsal. He, mind you, gave me permission to come up to the game as long as I got there before to warm up and before the game started. So I did. My mom drove me super far, like two hours up north for this game. I got suited up and played. Well, I didn't play — he sent me to the bench. And I said, 'What are you doing? I need to warm up.' I was a captain at that time, but he sent me on the bench. The game started. One quarter went by. Two quarters went by. It was halftime, and I was in tears. I was still on the bench, and he yelled at me in front of the whole stadium and basically said, you chose the singing thing over basketball and your teammates, and you're being a bad sportsman. And that was the last day that I played competitive basketball. I walked out of that stadium and never looked back competitively. That's where I really turned my efforts towards really focusing on my voice. In hindsight, it was all meant to be.

Absolutely, there's so many parallels between being an athlete and, I like to say, an opera athlete because it takes everything. It's very physical. The main similarities are — I'm sitting at the piano right now practicing and being really consistent about that. Like, I say 'no' a lot to my friends and social gatherings because the music doesn't learn itself! And also, vocal cords are very sensitive, so I can't go out and party like people do. I have to be very disciplined, which was also something I did with basketball.

Then also, just taking care of my body because my body is my instrument, my voice is a part of my body. So I have very specific things that I do on the day before show and end of the show, and lifestyle choices that all affect my voice — getting my sleep and all that stuff. And then also having 'off' days … like, you have to win a game and you have to lose a game when you play basketball. I don't necessarily win or lose when I sing, but there are some just 'off' days and you have to keep going and learn from it. That's something I think sports helped me with, because I'm able to process it quickly, learn from it, and move on.

I can't believe it was five years ago! First of all, it was the best debut I could have ever imagined. I mean, I walked out onto the stage playing an African Queen, and to be honest, I didn't feel like I was acting. I grew up learning and knowing about a lot of ancient Egypt and the figures that made up ancient Egypt. So Queen Nefertiti, I knew a lot about her, and I honestly was just like — she is me and I am her. So it was quite the debut. The music was really difficult, but it's in there. I could sing it tomorrow because it's just a part of me and I worked so hard on it. Production was so so so special. I look at my Grammy that I have — because it won a Grammy! — and sometimes I just get emotional because I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, my hard work.' It felt very full circle because at that point, it had been 10 years since I graduated from Manhattan School of Music, which was my alma mater here in New York. And then to get my first Grammy in the city was really special.

The [Seattle Opera] is really a great company to work for. I feel very supported and to look out and see my friends and family and hometown supporters is really special. There's nothing like that feeling. So I'm really excited to be back and also in this repertoire. This opera, Les Troyens, is rarely done because it's quite the endeavor. It's long, it's big, it requires a great chorus, and really specific voices to sing the roles. So I feel very honored to step into this role, but it's good, it's right, it fits really well.

The role is such a beautiful character. She is a queen in every way. She's very human, I will say that, but she handles controversy in a very graceful way … I think it's just such a dignified role that shows a spectrum of someone who I would want to be my queen, you know? It's a very human role and a very human opera that touches on so many themes that we deal with — love, betrayal, death. I mean, it's an opera, but with these relationships in this story, I can easily put myself into these situations. And I love singing in French.

My family, I love catching up with my nieces and nephew and parents and going back to church. I have friends that I grew up with that I'm still close with. The first thing I love, though, is stepping off of the airplane outside and inhaling the air. There is no fresh air like Washington. I feel like I can breathe deeper and better as soon as I come home. The food is amazing, the seafood, the produce, the fruit. I just love spending time with my family and friends and eating, trying new restaurants and even going for walks. My parents live in Lakewood, so there's tons of lakes and woods. We really enjoy just the outdoors.