What she's doing with us: American soprano (and now, Toronto resident!) Sondra Radvanovsky returns to the COC in her role debut as Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux. She puts on her final crown in Donizetti's "Tudor Trilogy," having already tackled the title roles of Anna Bolena and Maria Stuarda.

Where you might have seen her: While Toronto audiences may recognize Sondra from her role and COC debut in our 2010 production of Aida, Sondra is a globally recognized artist, well-known for Verdi roles, who has sung in all the major opera houses in the world. Closer to home, Met Live in HD audiences may recognize her for such roles as Leonora in Il Trovatore and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, and also as a Met Live in HD host!  

Her background: Born just outside Chicago, Sondra moved to Richmond, Indiana when she was 11, and sang her first full opera there when she was 21. She studied theatre and voice at University of Southern California and at UCLA, and took advanced studies at the Tanglewood Music Center and at the University of Cincinnati's College Conservatory of Music. She then went on to win the 1995 Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions and joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Interviews and profiles: She was featured in the New York Times about her position as one of the Metropolitan Opera's top Verdi sopranos, she spoke with Opera Chic about her role in Il Trovatore, the Opera Tattler caught the soprano in a fun interview just before she sang Ernani at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and she shares a hilarious interview with close friend, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky in New York Magazine. 

What's next for Sondra: Before she arrives at the COC next spring, Sondra appears at the Metropolitan opera as the title role in Norma, as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at Vienna State Opera, and performs in Tosca at both the Metropolitan Opera and Gran Teatre del Liceu.

You can follow Sondra as she shares some great performance photos on Facebook, or on her website.

Watch as Sondra performs in her role debut as the title character in Anna Bolena at the Washington National Opera in 2012.

Photos: (top) Sondra Radvanovsky; (middle) Sondra Radvanovsky as Aida in the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Aida, 2010. Photo credits: (top) Pavel Antonov; (middle) Michael Cooper.