Soprano Francesca Lionetta is passionate about her work onstage as a performing artist and offstage as an educator. Her upcoming engagements  include in György Kurtág’s Messages from the Late Miss R.V. Troussova and Schumann’s Frauenliebe-und-Leben for Bard’s Kurtág Festival (February 2023). Previously, Francesca performed the roles of Grasshopper and Innkeeper in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen at Bard, and Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Eastman. Opera scene work includes Annchen in a scene from Der Freischütz, Susanna in scenes from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Mireille in a scene from Gounod’s Mireille at Bard. She appeared as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with The Orchestra Now; in Handel’s Utrecht Te Deum with Eastman School Symphony Orchestra; and in Bach’s Cantata 130 in Eastman’s Bach Cantata Series. 

Francesca's off-stage experience includes roles in arts administration and opera education. Following internships at Sarasota Youth Opera and at Eastman Opera Theatre, in June 2020, she founded What is Opera, Anyway. Since then she has designed and executed programs including virtual after-school programming: “What is Opera, Anyway?” and “Let’s Write an Opera”, the WIOA podcast, a virtual adult education program: “Unexpected Journeys”, and an in-school workshop: “Let’s Write an Opera In-School Workshop” . 

Francesca is a graduate of Eastman School of Music where she holds a BM in Voice Performance and a certificate from Eastman's Arts Leadership Program. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Bard’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program. A teacher herself, Francesca maintains a studio of singers from age 10 to adult.  francescalionetta.com