EMMA • BONANNO
mezzo-soprano
Emma Bonanno
Biography
photo credit: Tam Lan Truong
Emma Bonanno, mezzo-soprano, is currently a Resident Artist at Shreveport Opera, and will be performing Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro this spring as well as singing the role of the Housekeeper and covering Aldonza in Man of La Mancha. She recently completed her Graduate Performance Diploma in Opera at the Boston Conservatory, performing roles such as the Secretary in The Consul, Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Mrs. Patrick DeRocher in Dead Man Walking, and Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin. In the summer of 2018, she joined Charlottesville Opera as an apprentice singer, covering Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro. In New York City, she has worked with companies such as the Bronx Opera Company, the Martina Arroyo Foundation Prelude to Performance, City Lyric Opera, the North Shore Music Festival, and OperaRox Productions in roles including Meg Page in Falstaff, the title role in La Cenerentola, Kate Pinkerton, and Alice Ford in Sir John in Love.
As Mrs. Patrick DeRocher in Dead Man Walking
Copyright Max Wagenblass Boston Conservatory at Berklee 2017
Growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, Emma trained as a recorder player and cellist at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and was also a competitive figure skater.
She currently studies with Rebecca Folsom.
Emma graduated from McGill University’s Schulich School of Music with her Master’s Degree in May 2016. During her time at McGill, she performed the roles of Eduige in Rodelinda, Jo March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and La Suora Infermiera in Suor Angelica, in addition to performing in song recitals and singing as a soloist with various churches throughout Montreal.
She attended DePaul University as an undergraduate, has received training with the Martina Arroyo Foundation Prelude to Performance program in 2015, and trained to be a teaching artist with Chicago Opera Theater’s Opera for All program during the 2013-14 school year. Emma also performed four seasons in Chicago with the Grant Park Music Festival Symphony Chorus.
