Bonnie Blackwell

Soprano Bonnie Blackwell began her operatic journey almost 7 years ago when she first started studying classical voice as a sophomore in High school. It did not take much time for her to realize that her desire to do opera wasn’t a desire at all, but a necessity. She is currently based in Winston Salem, North Carolina and has been at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Where she completed her Bachelor of Music in May 2020 and studying with Professor Glenn Siebert for the past 5 years. She was recently cast as Laetitia in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief as part of undergraduate opera scenes but, did not get to perform due to the pandemic. In previous years she appeared as Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo e Eurydice in 2018 and as The Third Knitter in Seymour Barab’s A Game of Chance in 2019. As an undergraduate student she has sung in two AJ Fletcher Opera Institute productions as part of the chorus: La clemenza di Tito in 2020 and Florencia en el Amazonas in 2017. She was cast as a Street Chorus Member as part of UNCSA’s Main Stage production of Bernstein’s Mass where she was featured as the soloist who sang “Hurry” in 2018. Her experiences outside of school have included being a part of the Piedmont Opera Chorus for the past 3 seasons appearing in productions of Pirates of Penzance, La Bohème, L’elisir d’amore, and Maria Stuarda. She has also performed as a featured Young Artist for Music for a Great Space and as a featured soloist for The English Speaking Union of Guilford County. She has been featured a soloist in UNCSA Cantata Singers concerts as well as at Home Moravian church where is the Soprano Section Leader and a member. Bonnie has been very honored to receive two national titles in vocal competitions, She was awarded Third Place nationally in 2018 at the National Association of Teachers of Singing, National Student Auditions in the Lower College Women’s division, and Third place nationally in 2016 at Classical Singer in the Highschool division. Bonnie cherishes these opportunities and is excited to see what the journey ahead holds.