Biography
Paulette Penzvalto is a dramatic soprano specializing in Wagner and Strauss. She appeared as Freia in Wagner's Das Rheingold and the soprano soloist in Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder for the Dramatic Voices Program in Berlin. Paulette is also an engineering Program Manager at Googler and she studies privately at San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Susanne Mentzer.
This past season she delivered her keynote "The Limit Does Not Exist" internationally, sang at Opera San Jose as Cantore in La Rondine, performed the National Anthem at a SF Giants Game and was a vocalist on "Kirtan Lounge: Precious Jewels," which was nominated for 6 Grammys, including best foreign Language Album.
Miss Penzvalto completed a Professional Internship at The Juilliard School after graduating with an Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where she was named a Corbett Scholar and sang Tisbe in La Cenerentola and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and was a finalist to the Fulbright Scholar program.
She appeared as Flora in Indianapolis Opera's production of La Traviata, after her mainstage debut as Dryade in IO's production of Ariadne auf Naxos. She was Resident Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, and was invited to return to cover Mother Marie in their production of The Dialogues of the Carmelites. As a Young Artist with Indianapolis Opera, she performed the role of Katisha in The Mikado and was selected to be a regional finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards. A Young Artist at Cedar Rapids Opera, she Covered the role of Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte. Ms. Penzvalto also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Voice (with Distinction) at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales, where she was recipient of the Sir Geraint Evans Scholarship. She was chosen to be a BBC Choral Scholar and recorded numerous works under the baton of Sir Richard Hickox, Adrian Partington, and Thierry Fischer. She was invited by Maestro Alain Cherel to be the soloist in Poulenc's Gloria at Concert Maîtrise St Léonard in Fougeres, France and she sang the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto with New Operafestival di Roma in Italy.
Paulette enjoys fashion design, studied Boulengerie at Le Cordon Bleu, is an avid fan of Jane Austen and she volunteers as an advocate to help youth navigate the foster system.
"Paulette Penzvalto was enchanting and possessed a vocal quality even throughout her range." ~ Classical Cleveland