Praised in the Baltimore Sun for her “impressive voice”, Laura Whittenberger is a versatile singer and theater performer. This season made her off-Broadway debut as Saavik in KHAN!!! the Musical. Other recent credits include Mrs. Manningham in Angel Street (Gaslight) at the Studio Theatre Tierra del Sol in FL and the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods with ACON Theatre in MA. Highlights from the past season have included Maria in The Sound of Music with Central FL Vocal Arts in Orlando (Broadway World “Best Actor in a Musical” regional nominee) and Lucy in Bright Star with TheatreZone in Naples, FL. She also sang the New York premiere of “You Spotted Snakes”, a Shakespeare song cycle by Raphe Crystal.

Performances in recent seasons have included Annabel in Lucky Stiff and Sonia in Life Sucks with Steel City Theatre (CO), Catherine in an outdoor production of Proof with Winter Harbor Arts (ME), Cinderella in Into the Woods with Clear Space Theater (DE), Amalia u/s in She Loves Me and Magnolia u/s in Show Boat with the Gulf Coast Symphony (FL), Saavik in the NY, Philadelphia, and Winter Park, FL readings of Khan!!! the Musical, Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde (MD), and in art song recitals with harp and piano in Indiana, Maine, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland. She also appeared as Helena in a series of filmed scenes from Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well (NYC).

Previous roles have included Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (ME), Lilli/Lois u/s in Kiss Me, Kate (MD), and Pauline in La Vie Parisienne (NY). Laura has performed at DC’s Signature Theatre in A Little Night Music, and in NJ, PA and MD theaters in Camelot (Nimue), Sweeney Todd (Johanna), Hair, and The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel). Young audience credits include Olympia/Blue Lady in Pinocchio as a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera (IA). In concert, Laura performed an NYC recital at the American Irish Historical Society, singing selections from Words that Sing in the Night, a new album of songs set to the poetry of W.B. Yeats she recorded in 2017. A winner of the Montpelier Arts Center recital competition, she performed a series of French melodie recitals through 2018 with harpist Jacqueline Pollauf. 

Earlier highlights have included Beauty in Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast with Lyric Opera Baltimore, Amalia in She Loves Me (DE), Rose in Ruddigore (ME), Johanna in Sweeney Todd (MD), Peggy in the premiere of Revolutionary Gentleman (DC), Meggie in the premiere of Catch a Dream (DC), Nicky in the premiere of Christmas Again (MI), Mrs. Banks in Mary Poppins (TN), and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (MD). As Mabel she was nominated for Broadway World’s “Best Actress in a Musical” award for both the Baltimore and Philadelphia regions.

Laura made her Baltimore debut as the title role in Lakmé with Peabody Opera Theatre. She performed as Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Anna (The King and I), and Adele (Die Fledermaus) in DC area festivals. Other roles have included Constance in Dialogues des Carmelites, Oscar in Un ballo in Maschera, and Elsie in The Yeomen of the Guard, in which she “danced her role with grace and style” (Washington Post). She also reprised Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Bel Cantanti Opera Company at DC’s Singapore Embassy.

In concert, Laura has performed soprano solos in the Messiah, Carmina Burana, and Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse, among others. She performed as part of a chamber music trio with Baltimore's Symphony Number One, debuting contemporary works alongside Schubert's beloved Der Hirt auf dem Felsen. She also performed opera and musical theater selections as a soloist for Annapolis Opera's "Opera in the Park". In past seasons she joined the Columbia Pro Cantare as a soloist for Mozart’s Regina Coeli (K127) and Rutter’s Requiem, and performed solos in French, Spanish, Czech and Italian.

Earlier Maryland local theater credits included Julie (Carousel), Rose (Meet Me in St. Louis), Lily (The Secret Garden), and Meg (Little Women), among others. For her role in Little Women, Laura was nominated for a Readers’ Choice Award for “Best Supporting Actress in a Musical” by DC Metro Theater Arts, who described her voice as “almost ethereal in beauty and stunning to hear”. An active outreach performer, Laura regularly sings solo recitals for local events.

Laura earned her Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Dr. Stanley Cornett, where she held a full-tuition assistantship for her work with Peabody’s ESL and Opera departments. At Peabody, she was awarded as an Outstanding Voice Student and co-directed “13 Roses: An Evening at the Opera”. She also taught an ESL class and led several workshops, including a seminar for the Road Scholars Program on “crossover” singers. Laura holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Voice from Indiana University, where she studied with Carlos Montané.