Dallas based soprano, Amanda O'Toole, kicked off 2021 by being named an Encouragement Award Winner in the Arkansas District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She looks forward to studying the role of Tatyana with the Russian Opera Workshop this coming summer. Additionally, during the 2020-2021 season, she was a Semi-Finalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition as well as a finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition.
Prior to 2018, Ms. O'Toole was performing primarily as a mezzo-soprano. She has since fully embraced the transition to soprano and, with that, the opportunity to explore new repertoire. As a Soprano Section Leader for East Dallas Christian Church, she made her formal soprano debut in April 2019 as a soloist in Howard Goodall's Eternal Light: A Requiem. Ms. O'Toole has been fortunate to work with living composers Tom Cipullo and Blake Henson. She premiered two songs from Mr. Henson's Of Earth and Air at Texas Wesleyan University and recorded a live performance of his Dirge for Two Veterans which will be used as the definitive recording. Ms. O'Toole also had the opportunity to work directly with composer Tom Cipullo during his 2017 UNT residency. She performed in a concert of the composer's works and was praised by Mr. Cipullo as "naturally funny."
Ms. O'Toole has previously competed as a Finalist in the Lewisville Lake Symphony International Vocal Competition and received an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2017), She has participated in the Forth Worth Opera Masterclass Series (2020), Career Blueprints at OPERA America (2018), and Opera in the Ozarks as an Emerging Artist. Ms. O'Toole holds a Master in Music in Voice/Opera from the University of North Texas and Bachelor in Music in Voice from the University of Michigan. Ms. O'Toole currently studies with Jennifer Rowley and sings with the Dallas Opera as part of the Regular Chorus. She is originally from Richmond, VA.
