Mezzo-soprano Simona Genga possesses an “exceptional and rare voice” known for its “vocal plushness, amplitude and range” (Ludwig van Toronto/Opera Canada). 

Of recent note, Simona returned to San Francisco Opera in recital as the 2023 Schwabacher Recital Series Prize winner after having joined their prestigious Merola Opera Program, where Ms. Genga appeared as Bianca in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and in recital for Metamorphosis: Recovery, Renewal, and Rebirth. Simona’s 2023-24 season also saw debuts with the Victoria Symphony (Handel’s Messiah) and Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœurs des Mélomanes (Beethoven’s Ninth), as well as a return to the Canadian Opera Company for a cover assignment in Cherubini’s Medea.

Simona was a 2022-23 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition National Semi-Finalist after winning both the Great Lakes Region and Buffalo-Toronto District rounds. The season also included her debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa.  

Recent highlights include the title role in Carmen for Saskatoon Opera, the premiere of Ian Cusson’s Fantasma with the Canadian Opera Company, Handel’s Messiah with the Peterborough Singers, Olga in Eugene Onegin for Highlands Opera Studio, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Brott Music Festival. 

In recent seasons, Simona appeared as the Second Maid in COC’s Elektra and premiered the role of Cindy in their Wow Factor: A Cinderella Story. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Simona sang Annina in Patricia Racette’s production of La traviata and covered the role of Mother Chen in the premiere of Huang Ro’s An American Soldier. In recital, Simona sang in Elora Festival’s Shaftsbury Salon Series, won the 2017 Norcop Song Recital Prize, and has held fellowships with the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, The Chautauqua Institute, Highlands Opera Studio, and the Franz Schubert Institut in Baden bei Wein.