Sondra Radvanovsky

Sondra Radvanovsky (b. Berwyn, Illinois, April 11, 1969 - ) – Soprano. Born in the suburbs of Chicago in a Czech family, Sondra Radvanovsky moved to Richmond, Indiana, with her family at age six. There, she gained experience with the local Whitewater Opera company (now defunct) starting at age eleven. An alumnus of Richmond High School, Radvanovsky studied drama at UCLA and voice at the University of Santa Barbara with further training at the Tanglewood Music Center and the Metropolitan Opera Young Artists Development Program. At the start of her professional operatic career, she won the 1995 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (1995), the Loren L. Zachary Society Competition (1995), and the George London Competition (1997). Since then, she has performed Verdi soprano roles in some of the most prestigious stages in the world, including playing opposite Placido Domingo at the MET, London’s Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) and Milan’s La Scala. In 2010, she released the CD Radvanovsky Sings Verdi on Delos; it cracked the top ten on i-tunes top classical albums list. In short, she is regarded as one of the greatest Verdi sopranos of her generation.