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	---> b i o g r a p h y ---> r e s u m e ---> r e v i e w s ................................................................................. ---> write to Manager
Penelope Shumate, soprano...

b i o g r a p h y...........back to roster....up March 2008 Penelope Shumate is a beautiful young soprano who has been noted as having a "powerful and supple voice" with a "lovely quality." She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. Also that year, Miss Shumate performed as the Soprano Soloist in the Messiah along with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. She performed the roles of Violetta and Donna Anna in excerpts of La Traviata and Don Giovanni in Lake George Opera's Opera Favorites orchestra concert. She also performed as the Soprano Soloist for a chamber concert and pops concert at the Luzerne Music Festival. "Shumate was the star of the afternoon, coming up with a beautiful vocal and dramatic performance from start to finish", was one reviewer's account of her performance as Violetta in La Traviata with the Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra in the fall of 2004. She then returned in December to perform as the Soprano Soloist in the Messiah with the orchestra. Miss Shumate has been a featured artist with Opera Roanoke many times and in 2005, she returned again to perform the title role of Galatea in their production of Acis and Galatea. She was noted as having a "pleasing and clear" voice.  She has also been singing roles with Baltimore Opera since 2000 and in the fall of 2005, returned to perform the role of Lisa in La Sonnambula. She was described as having a "voice with power" and a "welcome fire" on stage. That same year, she was an award winner in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Vocal Competition and in the MacAllister Awards. In 2006, she performed the role of Belinda in ConcertOpera Philadelphia's production of Dido and Aeneas. She then returned once again to Carnegie Hall to sing as the Soprano Soloist for Handel's Messiah. 2006 also marked her Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall in the title role of Naughty Marietta. That Fall, Miss Shumate also debuted with Opera on the James as Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte. In December, she also debuted with the Duluth Festival Opera for Opera Cabaret, featuring favorite operatic arias and duets. Also that year, she received awards from both the Gerda Lissner Foundation and Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. In 2007, she returned to the Baltimore Opera in the role of Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride. She also returned to the Duluth Festival Opera to be featured as the Soprano Soloist in "The Divine Divas of Opera" concert and also in an opera gala. In Philadelphia, she performed as the Soprano Soloist in Mozart's Requiem and as Cunegonde in excerpts from Candide with the Drexel University Orchestra.  She also returned to New York City to perform as the Soprano Soloist in Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus with the Little Orchestra Society. During the summer, Opera on the James presented Miss Shumate in a recital in Lynchburg, Virginia. Later in the year, she performs as the Soprano Soloist in the Messiah with the Lynchburg College Choral Union. She will also debut with the Jacksonville Lyric Opera singing Hanna in The Merry Widow. She was also an award winner in the New Jersey Association of Versimo Opera's Vocal Competition held at Carnegie Hall. In 2008, she returns to Opera on the James as the Soprano Soloist in their Opera Gala and as Musetta in La Bohème. She will also debut with the Berkshire Choral Festival as the Soprano Soloist in Carmina Burana and in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. She then returns to the Baltimore Opera for two opera concerts. Also returning to Carnegie Hall, she will perform as the Soprano Soloist in Mozart's Coronation Mass and in Haydn's St. Nicolai Mass. click here to read Penelope Shumate's resume (MS Word) b i o.....rr e v i e w s... back to roster...up . . . .

. r e v i e w s...........back to roster....up “Penny Shumate, as the innkeeper Lisa, sang with welcome fire…” The Baltimore Sun, 2005 “Penny Shumate has a pleasing, clear soprano well suited to the role of Galatea.” The Roanoke Times, 2005 “Penny Shumate sang her way through the very demanding lead role of Violetta with ease. Always in control of her powerful and supple voice, this very attractive young soprano gave a vocal performance not often heard this far north of New York City.” The Chronicle, 2004 “As Violetta, soprano Penny Shumate was a delight. Her pure voice soared with strength on top. Her acting, however, is what held the large crowd’s attention. She flirted and suffered. She laughed and was determined. Her “Forever Free” aria in the first act was superb with the right amount of frustration and abandon.” The Post-Star, 2004 “Shumate shines. Shumate was the star of the afternoon, coming up with a beautiful vocal and dramatic performance from start to finish. Her voice has a lovely quality and she has the technique to flutter through Violetta’s demanding coloratura lines with confidence.” The Daily Gazette, 2004 “Penny was a delight this past weekend. I couldn't have asked for a more professional, courteous, gracious or well voiced Violetta.” Maestro Charles Peltz, Conductor for La Traviata, Glens Falls Symphony Orchestra, 2004 “Penny Shumate’s performance was stunning and everyone should know about it. I find her ability to achieve a variety of vocal colors, that which is most appropriate for her specific aria, to be remarkable.” Maestro Jonathan Griffith, Conductor for Carmina Burana, Carnegie Hall, 2003 “Papagena was sung brightly by soprano Penny Shumate.” The Washington Post, 2001 “Penny Shumate’s sexy and feisty Musetta a particular delight.” Au Courant News Magazine, 2000 “Blessed with a clear voice, she (Penny Shumate) sang with crispness and fire” The Kennett Paper, 1998 b i o.....rr e v i e w s..... back to roster...up . . . .

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