San Diego born soprano Carol Vaness made her Company debut in a recital at the Sherwood Auditorium in 1987 before making her mainstage debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte in 1991, followed by appearances as Elettra in Idomeneo: King of Crete in 2001 and the title role of Vanessa in 2005. Notable roles in her extensive repertoire include Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, and the title role of Tosca which she performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 opposite Luciano Pavarotti in the legendary tenor’s final operatic performance. Vaness made her professional debut as Vitellia for the San Francisco Spring Opera and has been acknowledged as the world’s leading interpreter of this role. She has appeared as Vitellia at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera and Gran Teatre del Liceu, at the Salzburg Festival and other leading theaters. Among her many celebrated television appearances, she has been featured on the Pavarotti Plus and Pavarotti and Friends telecasts from Lincoln Center, as well as the Richard Tucker Gala and In Performance at the White House with members of the New York City Opera. She is a professor of music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.