Praised in the Baltimore Sun for her “impressive voice”, Laura Whittenberger is a versatile singer and theater performer. This season so far she’s performed as Cinderella in Into the Woods with Clear Space Theater (DE), Magnolia u/s in Show Boat with the Gulf Coast Symphony (FL), Saavik in the Philadelphia Fringe reading of Khan!!! the Musical, Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde (MD), and in art song recitals with harp and piano in Maine, North Carolina, and Maryland. She also appeared as Helena in a series of filmed scenes from Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well (NYC).
In recent seasons, she appeared as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (ME), Lilli/Lois u/s in Kiss Me, Kate (MD), and made her Long Island Opera debut as Pauline in La Vie Parisienne. She has performed at DC’s Signature Theatre in A Little Night Music, and in NJ, PA and MD theaters in Camelot (Nimue), Sweeney Todd (Johanna), Hair, and The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel). Young audience credits include Olympia/Blue Lady in Pinocchio as a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera (IA). In concert, Laura notably performed an NYC recital at the American Irish Historical Society, singing selections from Words that Sing in the Night, a new album of songs set to the poetry of W.B. Yeats she recorded in 2017. A winner of the Montpelier Arts Center recital competition, she performed a series of French song recitals through 2018 with harpist Jacqueline Pollauf.
Other highlights have included Beauty in Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast with Lyric Opera Baltimore, Amalia in She Loves Me (DE), Rose in Ruddigore (ME), Johanna in Sweeney Todd (MD), Peggy in the premiere of Revolutionary Gentleman (DC), Meggie in the premiere of Catch a Dream (DC), Nicky in the premiere of Christmas Again (MI), Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (TN), and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (MD). As Mabel, she was nominated for Broadway World’s “Best Actress in a Musical” award for both the Baltimore and Philadelphia regions.
Laura made her Baltimore debut as the title role in Lakmé with Peabody Opera Theatre. She also performed as Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Anna (The King and I), and Adele (Die Fledermaus) in DC area festivals. Other roles have included Constance in Dialogues des Carmelites, Oscar in Un ballo in Maschera, and Elsie in The Yeomen of the Guard, in which she “danced her role with grace and style” (Washington Post). She also reprised Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Bel Cantanti Opera Company at DC’s Singapore Embassy.
In concert, Laura has performed soprano solos in the Messiah, Carmina Burana, and Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse, among others. She performed as part of a chamber music trio with Baltimore’s Symphony Number One, debuting contemporary works alongside Schubert’s beloved Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. She also performed opera and musical theater selections as a soloist for Annapolis Opera’s “Opera in the Park”. In past seasons she has joined the Columbia Pro Cantare as a soloist for Mozart’s Regina Coeli (K127) and Rutter’s Requiem, and most recently as a soloist for a Czech music concert.
Maryland local theater credits included Julie (Carousel), Rose (Meet Me in St. Louis), Lily (The Secret Garden), and Meg (Little Women), among others. For her role in Little Women, Laura was nominated for a Readers’ Choice Award for “Best Supporting Actress in a Musical” by DC Metro Theater Arts, who described her voice as “almost ethereal in beauty and stunning to hear”. An active outreach performer, Laura regularly sings solo recitals for local events.
Laura earned her Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Dr. Stanley Cornett, where she held a full-tuition assistantship for her work with Peabody’s ESL and Opera departments. At Peabody, she was awarded as an Outstanding Voice Student and co-directed “13 Roses: An Evening at the Opera”. She also taught an ESL class and led several workshops, including a seminar for the Road Scholars Program on “crossover” singers. Laura holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Voice from Indiana University, where she studied with Carlos Montané.
