PENELOPE SHUMATE
Violetta / La Traviata

Penelope Shumate is a beautiful young soprano who has been noted as having a "powerful and supple voice of lovely quality." She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2004 as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana , receiving a standing ovation. That year Miss Shumate performed as 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 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 received the 2nd Place award in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera's Vocal Competition held at Carnegie Hall and was named a 2005 MacAllister Awards Finalist. This year, she performed the role of Belinda in Concert Opera 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.  Also this year, she made her Lincoln Center debut at Alica Tully Hall in the title role of Naughty Marietta.  In addition, Miss Shumate received awards in the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Annapolis Opera vocal competitions.

She has also performed with Des Moines Metro Opera, Ash Lawn-Highland Summer Festival, Utah Festival Opera, and Center City Opera Theater. Her roles include Violetta in La Traviata , Gilda in Rigoletto , Musetta in La Boheme , Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi , Adele in Die Fledermaus , and Abigail Williams in The Crucible .