Described as having “a strikingly beautiful voice with a glorious top and a rich middle,” soprano Calista Smith is currently a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera this summer, where she will sing the Shepherd in Tosca at the Filene Center. Recently, Calista was named a District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition’s North Carolina District, as well as an Encouragement Award winner from the Southeast Region of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Other recent engagements include covering Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and singing the Vixen in scenes from The Cunning Little Vixen, as well as winning awards from the Schmidt Undergraduate Vocal Competition, the Donald Chen Young Artists Competition, and the American Opera Society of Chicago. During her two summers at the Aspen Music Festival, she appeared as the German woman in Jimmy Lopez's Bel Canto and covered Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro. This past year, Calista began her master’s degree at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Gwen Coleman. She earned a BM in voice and opera and a BA in communications from Northwestern University, where she sang Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Cendrillon in Cendrillon, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Oberto in Alcina, and the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major.

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