Rising soprano Victoria Cannizzo recently made her debut with Opera Hong Kong as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Other recent roles include Suzel in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, and Mimì, Cìo-Cìo San, and Floria in three concerts of excerpts from Puccini’s La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, and Tosca. The 2019/2020 season brings a return to the title role in Puccini’s Tosca with Opera in the Heights as well as Violetta in Verdi’a La Traviata. Before the pandemic, Ms. Cannizzo was scheduled to make her Swedish debut at Liù in Puccini’s Turandot with Opera på Skäret, now rescheduled to August of 2021.

Ms. Cannizzo was praised for her “dark and meaty” voice and her “stunning, shimmering pianissimo” in her portrayal of Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore with Baltimore Concert Opera.  Her performances of the same role at Tri-Cities Opera were hailed as “complex” and “absolutely exquisite.”  A scholarship recipient at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, Ms. Cannizzo covered the role of Rosalinde in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. She also appeared as Donna Elvira in scenes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and as Violetta in excerpts from Verdi’s La Traviata. Her performance of the full role was hailed as “a mark of artistry…strikingly beautiful, Cannizzo captured the genesis of Violetta’s hopeful but tragic circumstance – to love and to be loved.”

Ms. Cannizzo was the 3rd Prize winner in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Competition, the Grand Prize winner of the Metropolitan International Vocal Competition, the 2nd Prize winner of the New Jersey State Opera Competition as well as a finalist grant winner from the 2013 Fritz & Lavinia Jensen Foundation and the Altamura/Caruso International Vocal Competition.  She was the winner of the St. Bonaventure Prize from the Liederkranz Foundation in New York, where she appeared at the Winner’s Concert in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. She was one of two singers from New York chosen to advance to Vienna, Austria to compete in the prestigious Hans Gabor Belvedere International Singing Competition. Ms. Cannizzo remained in Europe, and was awarded two Young Artist Scholarships from Raina Kabaivanska and Renato Bruson for her participation in their master classes at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy. She was subsequently awarded a grant from the Raina Kabaivanska Fund and the America for Bulgaria Foundation, and made her European concert debut at the Sofia National Opera and Ballet Theater in Bulgaria.

Ms. Cannizzo regularly performs throughout her native New Jersey with the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea, as well as in recital with Jane Steele. She has performed the roles of Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Micäela in Carmen, Liù in Turandot, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly. Other awards received include an Encouragement Award from the Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, which was renewed the following year, and the Rising Star Scholarship from the St. Cecilia Foundation.  Ms. Cannizzo holds a Master of Music in Opera from Binghamton University/Tri-Cities Opera, and a Bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Chicago.