Amanda Russo Stante is an experienced and versatile mezzo-soprano, known for her ability to master both feminine and pants roles on the operatic stage. From Octavian to Cendrillon, Dr. Stante has been recognized for her “highly theatrical, vocally persuasive” performances, which are “nothing short of stunning” (Peter Jacobi, Herald Times).

Dr. Stante held five title roles on the Indiana University Opera theater stage: Handel’s Serse, Massenet’s Cendrillon, Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Octavian in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, and Isabella in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri. Her solo concert engagements include Britten’s Canticle II, Corigliano’s Fern Hill, Ravel’s Sheherazade, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.

Her experience has taken her to The Glimmerglass Festival, Indiana University Opera Theater, Central City Opera, and concert stages across the United States and Europe. Dr. Stante has appeared as a soloist with the Budapest Concert Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Akron Symphony Orchestra, and the Wooster Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Stante holds a Doctor of Music degree in voice performance and literature from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she also received her Master of Music degree. She began her studies in higher education in her hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Carnegie Mellon University, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in German.

For over a decade, Dr. Stante lived in Bloomington, Indiana, where she maintained a thriving private voice studio and taught classes at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She was also on the voice faculty at Indiana State University. In the summer of 2020, Dr. Stante and her family moved to Central Pennsylvania, where she is now on the music faculty at Susquehanna University, teaching private voice and other voice related courses.