Biography

Regina Zona has been described as the "perfect voice for Strauss" and she continues to amaze audiences with her versatility. Embarking on a new path in her career, Ms. Zona’s operatic repertoire includes the heroines of Strauss and Mozart: Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, Chrysothemis in Elektra, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni as well as some of the great 20th century divas including the title role in Vanessa. In 2013, she appeared as Odabella in Verdi’s Attila with Empire Opera and sang three new roles in workshops in the New York area - Tosca, Leonora in Fidelio and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito. In September of 2015, she will sing Chrysothemis with the New York Opera Forum.

Donna Anna - Hawaii Opera TheatreMs. Zona has had the pleasure of working with some of the world’s best conductors on a variety of repertoire. She has sung Mozart with French conductor, Emmanuel Villaume, Welsh conductor, Grant Llewellyn and American conductors, James Meena and Carol Crawford. Under the baton of Maestra Eve Queler she has performed some of the great bel canto roles including the title role of Norma in concert and Margeurite in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico. She also covered that role and the role of Elena in Donizetti’s Marino Faliero with the Opera Orchestra of New York. Ms. Zona performed the music of Richard Strauss in Yokosuka, Japan at a Gala Concert with the Tokyo Symphony under the baton of Austrian conductor, Gustav Kuhn. She sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Hawaii Opera Theatre and triumphed with the Sarasota Opera as the flirtatious Musetta in La Bohème where she “stole the show…with her brilliant soprano and outrageously seductive characterization”. Perhaps her most critically acclaimed role at the beginning of her career was Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte. Musetta - La BohemeShe sang the Queen at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Toledo Opera, Sarasota Opera, Tulsa Opera, and in Philadelphia where she has been praised for her “brilliantly ringing sound” and “commanding presence”. She received critical accolades for her portrayal of Madame Goldentrill in The Impresario with Greater Buffalo Opera and Alice Ford in Falstaff in Philadelphia. Ms. Zona’s New York debut was as the soprano soloist in an Evening of Mozart at Lincoln Center with the National Chorale. Originally from Western New York, Ms. Zona was a winner of the highly distinguished Neue Stimmen International Vocal Competition in Gütersloh, Germany and has also taken first place honors in the Mario Lanza Competition, Giargiari and Arturo Bel Canto Competition, Liederkranz Society of New York Competition and was a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Equally comfortable on the concert stage as on the operatic stage, Ms. Zona was embraced by critics and Recital with Kathleen Tagg - Cape Town, South Africathe public on a concert tour with the Sarasota Opera as “nothing short of sensational”. An avid recitalist, she specializes in the performance of American art song. In the summer of 2010, she completed an American Song recital tour of South Africa commemorating Samuel Barber’s centenary year with South African pianist, Kathleen Tagg. They returned to South Africa for a second tour in 2011. Ms. Tagg and Ms. Zona have recorded several of the song cycles of Jake Heggie for the NAXOS American Classics Label which is now available worldwide. Mr. Heggie proclaimed Ms. Zona as a "truly phenomenal performer." In the fall of 2014, Ms. Zona and Ms. Tagg will present a series of CD Release Release recitals in New York, Philadelphia and other East Coast cities.

Ms. Zona’s extensive oratorio and concert performances include: Beethoven’s Symphony #9, Mahler’s Symphony #8, Mozart’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria and Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder.

Also an Opera Director specializing in the training of Young Artists, Ms. Zona received her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music, Artist Diploma from the Academy of Vocal Arts, and Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University. She is the Artistic Director of Mission: Artistic Performance, a company that offers intensive workshops for Opera and Musical Theatre young artists on artistic and career development.