Naguanda Nobles| Soprano |Age 31 | USA

Like most great singers, Ms. Nobles began singing within the supportive walls of her home church, where she discovered a love for singing and developed as a soloist. This year she gained a First Place prize which earned her the title of "2008 Shreveport Opera's Singer of the Year".

Ms. Nobles performed the role of Sister Rose with the ALO in the Southwestern premiere of Dead Man Walking and was recognized as being "a standout...and vocally impressive". With ALO, she also performed the role of Liù in their production of Turandot. She performed the role of Clara in Porgy and Bess with the Pensacola Opera, under the baton of Jerome Shannon, who later invited her to perform an encore performance with the Mobile Opera.

Ms. Nobles joined the Pittsburgh Opera Center and proudly performed several roles, including Atalanta in Xerxes where The Post-Gazette reviewed her as being "outstanding as the bad girl...with a sizeable voice and riveting persona to match". Last season, Ms. Nobles performed the charming role of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte with the Pittsburgh Opera, leaving the Post-Gazette to question why Mozart and his librettist didn't introduced the character of Papagena earlier in the opera "after seeing Nobles excel in the role and capturing the silly yet sexy birdwoman with ease."

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