ABOUT
Praised by the Pittsburgh City Paper for her "lovely" singing and "forceful stage presence," soprano Mia Bonnewell is an operatic and concert singer based in Pittsburgh, PA. This past season, Mia officially completed the canon of Gilbert and Sullivan works as Casilda in THE GONDOLIERS and Zorah in RUDDIGORE with the Pittsburgh Savoyards; she also joined the cast of IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A RADIO PLAY with Ghost Light Productions. She continues to perform as an Opera Trunk Artist with the Pittsburgh Opera education program in schools throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. A lover of baroque and contemporary music and light opera, Mia has especially enjoyed performing the roles of Cleopatra in GIULIO CESARE and Adele in DIE FLEDERMAUS with the Undercroft Opera, Sirena in RINALDO with the Pittsburgh Opera, Young Lizzy in LIZBETH with the Microscopic Opera, the title role in PATIENCE, Phyllis in IOLANTHE, and Aline in THE SORCERER, all with the Pittsburgh Savoyards, and the Fairy Godmother in CINDERELLA with the Bucknell Opera Company.
Also an enthusiastic recitalist, Mia has been heard in recent seasons on the Music at St. Bernard series with Karen Jeng Lin, Piano, featuring music by Monteverdi, Hahn, Strauss, Copland, Ricky Ian Gordon, and John Kander, and in recital on the Music at St. Paul's series with Christin Cooper, Piano, featuring music by Lili Boulanger and Libby Larsen. She has also been a soloist in Handel's MESSIAH, Pergolesi's STABAT MATER, and Vivaldi's GLORIA, among other concert works.
Mia is a professional cantor at St. Michael the Archangel Parish (St. Bernard Church/Our Lady of Grace Church), St. Paul Cathedral, St. Raphael the Archangel Parish (Saints Simon and Jude/St. Margaret/St. Elizabeth Ann Seton), St. Paul of the Cross Parish (St. Anne/St. Winifred), Corpus Christi Parish (St. Barbara), and St. Jude Parish (Sacred Heart/St. Raphael). She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance, summa cum laude, from Bucknell University, with additional studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music Summer Opera Studio, the Neil Semer Vocal Institute in Germany, the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College, and the Wesley Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute.
Vocal standouts include Mia Bonnewell as Phyllis, Zach Luchetti as the Earl of Mountararat, John Teresi as the Earl of Tolloller, and Brian Primack as the Lord Chancellor...