Cecelia Fornuto, a coloratura soprano who hails from Atlanta, GA, is a first year Doctor of Musical Arts student and GSI at the Univeristy of Michigan. She is currently under the tutelage of critially acclaimed soprano, Dr. Louise Toppin. Before moving to Ann Arbor, MI, Cecelia completed a Master of Music degree at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. There she studied with the distinguished Baritone, Herr Professor Wolfgang Brendel. Cecelia made her stage debut at the young age of twelve and has since shifted her focus from musical theatre to opera after playing the roles of Mary Poppins, Kathy Seldon (Singin' in the Rain), and Kim McAfee (Bye Bye Birdie).  

In the fall of 2017, she began her undergraduate degree in vocal performance at Lee University in Cleveland, TN studying under Dr. Chery Brendel and Dr. Cho Eun Lee. While working towards her degree, she traveled extensively with Lee’s premiere a capella group, Voices of Lee, as the lyric first soprano. The group performed at the Grand Ole Opry, in Times Square, and at the Beacon Theater in NYC in addition to collaborating with notable arrangers and musicians such as Bradley Knight, Gordon Mote, and Jordan Smith. Cecelia was awarded first place in the Cleveland Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2020 and first place in the Lee University Concerto competition the following year. In her senior year at Lee, she was cast in her first opera as Gretel in Lee University Opera Theatre’s film production of Englebert Humperdinck’s Hänsel and Gretel. 

In the summer of 2022, Cecelia made her Vienna debut as Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte with the Vienna Opera Academy at the Muth Konzertsaal. Most recently, Cecelia graced the MAC stage in the role of Valencienne in Die lustige Witwe at Indiana University (2023). This season, she Joins University of Michigan Opera as Micaëla in Peter Brook’s La Tragédie de Carmen, a chamber adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen.