Amanda
Simms
In 2024, Amanda premiered Act 1 of composer Anthony Davis and librettist Joan Soarkin’s new opera, The Reef at Merkin Hall with Berkshire Opera Festival in April. In January, Amanda gave a solo recital with City Lyric Opera. She will perform in Opera Delaware’s production of Turandot in May.
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Recent Highlights
Description
Soprano Amanda Simms and pianist Amber Scherer present a recital highlighting marginalized composers and perspectives. The program will feature works through the perspective of women, whether it be the composer, character or poet, and will include Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov, as well as black composer HT Burleigh.
Amanda Simms
Performer
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Based on the novel of the same name by Edith Wharton, the new opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis and librettist Joan Ross Sorkin tells the suspenseful story of a young widow and her former lover’s attempt to rekindle their romance. The tension is heightened in Davis and Sorkin’s retelling, which underscores the inequalities of race and social class at a sugar plantation on Martinique. Berkshire Opera Festival is proud to present Act One of this two-act opera for the very first time in a workshop performance featuring an exciting cast of emerging artists, including current students and recent alumni of some of the area's notable conservatories and music schools.
Amanda Simms
Performer
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Description
OperaDelaware is thrilled to present Puccini's opulent, unfinished masterpiece TURANDOT at The Grand on May 17 & 19. The Princess Turandot will marry any suitor who seeks her hand, as long as they can answer three riddles. But if they fail, they'll have a date with the executioner's blade!
Amanda Simms
Chorus
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Dane Suarez
Calaf
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Soprano Soloist
Amanda Simms
Soprano Soloist
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Third Prize
Amanda Simms
3rd Prize
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During the Festival, concerts and events take place in Indemini and at other beautiful locations around the region, creating a cultural exchange between Switzerland, Italy, and our international participants.
Amanda Simms
Artist in Residence
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Brown Loranger Fellow at SongFest
Amanda Simms
Artist in Residence
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Amanda Simms
Rhoda
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Amanda Simms
Finalist
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Amanda Simms
Finalist
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Spirit of Camille - Prize Winner
Amanda Simms
Finalist
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Amanda Simms
Cendrillon
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Amanda Simms
Competition
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Amanda Simms
Cleopatra
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Biography
Amanda Simms, soprano, is a recent graduate of the Peabody Institute for her Graduate Performance Diploma where she was a recipient of the George Castelle Memorial Award and the Artistic Excellence Scholarship.
In 2024, Amanda premiered Act 1 of composer Anthony Davis and librettist Joan Soarkin’s new opera, The Reef at Merkin Hall with Berkshire Opera Festival in April. Amanda gave a solo recital with City Lyric Opera that she curated with a focus on women’s voices and underrepresented voices in classical music. She will perform in Opera Delaware’s production of Turandot in May.
Last season, Amanda attended the Indemini Festival and SongFest as a recipient of the 2023 Brown Loranger Fellowship. Amanda was the Soprano Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra. She won Third Prize in the Partners for the Arts Competition, the Spirit of Camille Award at the Camille Coloratura Competition, was a finalist in the Career Bridges Grant Award, and a semi-finalist in the James Toland Vocal Competition. Amanda performed in a masterclass with Sherrill Milnes hosted by Maryland Lyric Opera.
Earlier in the 22/23 season, Amanda performed the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon with Peabody Opera. She made her debut with Bach in Baltimore as an Emerging Artist and returned to her alma mater Montclair State University as a featured soloist for the Fall 2022 Concert.
In the 2022/21 season, Amanda Simms was a finalist in the 2022 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition and the 2022 Sylvia Green Vocal Competition. Amanda has performed Rhoda (Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt) under direction of librettist Eric Einhorn with the Peabody Opera in collaboration with the Maryland Science Center.
She joined Opera North in 2021 as a resident artist for the roles of Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), and Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice). She has performed the role of Lucia (Rape of Lucretia) and Asteria (Tamerlano), with Montclair State University. Amanda placed 2nd in the 2021 Charleston International Music Competition and 2nd the NATS Eastern Region competition.
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