Praised for her versatility and range, lyric soprano Angela De Venuto is quickly establishing herself as a formidable presence in the classical music world. Her recent performances include appearing as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Lake Forest Civic Orchestra, performing Mozart’s concert aria, “Bella mia fiamma, addio” with the Intermezzi Ensemble, and premiering the role of Flo in The Eleanors by Jodi Goble with the Savannah Voice Festival. Other highlights include her role debut as Musetta in La Bohème, and her portrayal of the title character of Alice Riley by Michael Ching under the baton of Andrew Bisantz at the Savannah Voice Festival. This season, Ms. De Venuto will make her debut with the Opera Festival of Chicago, where she will cover the role of Fiora in Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei Tre Re, as well as perform in concert.
Alongside her husband and duo partner, Leo Radosavljevic, Ms. De Venuto was a finalist in the Federation of the Art Song Competition. She also performed Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras under the direction of Maestro Marin Alsop. Throughout her career, she has portrayed a broad range of characters, including Emily Webb (Our Town), Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw), Drusilla (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Angélique (Angélique), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Amore (The Return of Ulysses) with DePaul Opera Theatre, Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), and premiered the roles of Sarah Davenport and Jane in Michael Ching’s Anna Hunter with the Savannah Voice Festival. She has also appeared as Despina (Così fan tutte) with DuPage Opera Theatre, Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw) with Chicago Fringe Opera, Marzelline (Fidelio) with Intermezzi, and Maria (West Side Story) with the Northwest Chicago Symphony.
In concert and recital, Ms. De Venuto has been a soloist with several esteemed ensembles, including Ensemble 20+ (a Chicago-based contemporary music group), the Music Institute of Chicago, the Metropolis Chamber Orchestra, St. Paul’s Chamber Orchestra of Evanston, and DePaul University’s Symphony Orchestra. She has performed major choral works such as Mozart’s Requiem and C Minor Mass, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Schubert’s Mass in G Major, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. In addition to the standard repertory, Ms. De Venuto’s affinity for new music has made her a sought after interpreter by many of today’s established and up and coming composers of vocal music. Notable new music credits include, Comala Suite by Zohn-Muldoon, Poems of Amy Lowell by Benjamin Krause, and Estonian folk texts set by Leo Radosavljevic. She has collaborated with renowned composers such as Thomas Pasatieri, Libby Larsen, and her husband, Leo Radosavljevic.
Ms. De Venuto’s accolades include first-place prizes in the Evanston Music Club Competition (2018), the Classical Singer Emerging Professional Division (2017), the Musician’s Club of Women (2017), and the Sherrill Milnes Opera Idol competition (2016). She was also a quarter finalist in the 12th International Telemann Competition in Magdeburg, Germany (2023), and a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition (2019). In collaboration with her husband, she received second place in Chicago’s third annual SongSlam Art Song competition for his setting of Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1948 address to the United Nations (Words of Eleanor).