Penelope Bitzas
Voice

Mezzo-soprano Penelope Bitzas is an Associate Professor of Voice and the former Chair of the Voice Department at Boston University.  She received a Bachelor of Music degree from Ithaca College, magna cum laude, and a Masters of Music degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.  Ms. Bitzas has performed in a wide variety of musical venues including opera, contemporary music, solo recitals, orchestral performances and Greek music.  She has appeared as a soloist under such notable conductors as Kurt Masur, Seiji Ozawa, Luciano Berio, Robert Page, Gustav Meier, Richard Westenberg and George Tsontakis.  She has performed roles with the Minnesota Opera, Midwest Opera Theater, Little Orchestra Society of New York, Boston Concert Opera and Ithaca Opera.  Ms. Bitzas has performed abroad in Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and Venezuela.  She has been heard in concert at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall and Jordan Hall in performances of new music and Greek music and in world premieres of these repertoires.

In the New England area she has been a soloist with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in El Amor Brujo, Alea III, Back Bay Chorale, Just in Time Players,  the MIT Chorale and Orchestra, First Monday Concerts at Jordan Hall and Time's Arrow.  She has also been the guest conductor of the Metropolitan Greek Chorale in New York City.

Ms. Bitzas was a national semi-finalist in the Metropoltian Opera National Council, a performing member of the Minnesota Opera Studio, the New Music Ensemble at the Banff Centre in Canada, the Blossom Music Festival as well as a recipient of two fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Center.  Her students have been winners of several competitions including the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, the NATSSA competition, the Poulenc Competition, the MacAllister  Awards and the Gerdna Lissner Foundation, to name a few.  They have also performed roles with the New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Des Moines Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Minnesota Opera, Sarasota Opera, Delaware Opera, Opera Colorado and others.  In addition they have participated in summer apprenticeships including Opera North, Santa Fe, Glimmerglass Opera, the Merola Program and Western Opera Theater, Des Moines Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis and Wolf Trap. 

Vocal Program
Vocal Program, Faculty