Praised for her “rich mezzo sound” and “prowess in both pants roles and powerful women alike”, this season as an Opera Foundation Scholar, she joins the Junges Ensemble at Semperoper Dresden where her roles will include 2nd Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Flora in La traviata, Linetta in The Love of Three Oranges, and 3rd Blumenmädchen in Parsifal, while being responsible to cover Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Stephano in Romeo et Juliette, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. . Last season, she debuted the role of Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with Annapolis Opera, and performed the role of Laurene Powell Jobs in Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at the Washington National Opera, where she returned for a second year in the Cafritz Young Artist Program. While a member of the esteemed Cafritz Young Artist Program, she also made her house and role debut as Stéphano in Gounod’s Romèo et Juliette, sang Mary in Tesori’s The Lion, The Unicorn, and Me, and Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope. She also recently made her debut at the Glimmerglass Festival as both Il Destino and Linfea in Cavalli’s La Calisto, and joined the City Choir of Washington as the soloist in Elgar’s The Music Makers.
In competition, Winona was named the 1st place winner of Annapolis Opera’s 35th Annual Vocal Competition. She is a Regional Encouragement Award winner and a multi-year Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and was a finalist in the National Opera Association Carolyn Bailey Argento Competition, in addition to wins at the NATS National Student Auditions, and the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition. Other notable roles include Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, Nancy in Albert Herring, El gato in El gato con botas, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. She has previously held positions as a Young Artist at Prague Summer Nights, Up North Vocal Institute, and SongFest, where she was the recipient of a Colburn Fellowship, and was supported by a grant from Denver-based Allied Arts Inc. as she transitioned into her graduate program. She attended the University of Colorado – Boulder for her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Boston Conservatory at Berklee for her M.M. in Opera Performance, where she was the Jost J. and Reine C. Fleck Opera Scholar. Management Territory: Worldwide