What she's doing with us: Ensemble Studio graduate Ileana Montalbetti returns to the COC to star alongside world-famous tenor Ben Heppner in Peter Grimes. The Saskatchewan native makes her role debut as Ellen Orford, the town school teacher and one of Grimes' few friends.

Where you might have seen her: While she was in the Ensemble Studio, Ileana performed in mainstage performances of La Cenerentola, Maria Stuarda and Death in Venice. Last season she returned to the COC to understudy the roles of Leonora in Il Trovatore and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and gave two Free Concert Series performances. Since graduating from the Ensemble Studio in June 2012, Ileana has made her Edmonton Opera debut as Antonia in The Tales of Hoffmann, and performed as Leonore in Fidelio at the Michigan Opera Theatre. 

Her background: After completing undergraduate studies at the University of Manitoba, Ileana continued to hone her skills at the University of Toronto, graduating from the opera diploma program. She also studied at the Chautauqua Institute and completed two fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Centre in addition to the four years she spent in the COC Ensemble Studio.

Interviews and profiles: John Gilks wrote about Ileana's "Farewell concert" at the Free Concert Series and she was featured in a Meet the Singers post for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. You can also learn more about Ileana on her website.

What's next for Ileana: In April 2014, Ileana makes her New York City Opera debut as Marcellina in La nozze di Figaro, alongside fellow Ensemble Studio graduate Simone Osborne.

Meet Ileana in this short video she made for the Montreal International Music Competition.

Photo: Ileana Montalbetti. Photo by Bo Huang.