
EMA MITROVIC
Mezzo-Soprano/Contralto - Jazz Vocalist - Musician

Award winning and critically acclaimed operatic mezzo-soprano/vocalist, Ema Mitrović, is described: "Mezzo-soprano Ema Mitrovic laid down a plush carpet of notes, performing Ulrica’s Aria from “Un Ballo.” The tessitura’s low end dropped into the contralto range where she voiced both authority and menace."
(Benefit Concert for Ukraine OperaWire 3/21/22), “out of the ensemble, I found Ema Mitrović...to be the standout” (Opera Manhattan, Suor Angelica ’12) and "Her rich mezzo is pure pleasure..” (Hudson Opera Theatre, Lucia di Lammermoor ’18).
Ms. Mitrović performs as an ambassador of music across different genres, having performed 19 operatic roles thus far, a number of solo recitals, and has enjoyed being a strong cross-over jazz singer, performing along New York City’s finest musicians, including Tim Horner, Joe Locke, Ted Rosenthal, and Jim Ridl, to name a few. She's been on stage at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and New York City's renowned jazz venues Birdland, The Kitano, and Smalls. Often, she performs programs that include both classical and standard jazz repertoire to connect to her audience.
Upcoming, Ema will be making several role and company debuts, starting with Madame de Croissy (Dialogues of the Carmélites) with Bronx Opera Company, Mrs. Ott (Susannah) with Marble City Opera, and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) with New Rochelle Opera. She will also be returning to TUNDI Production’s “Wagner in Vermont” Festival to reprise the role of Schwertleite (Die Walküre) and cover Erda (Siegfried). Along with performing fully staged opera, Ema will also be part of scenes concerts with TUNDI Productions, where she will sing part of Klytämnestra (Elektra), Erda (Das Rheingold & Siegfried), First Norn (Götterdämmerung), and with Light Opera of NJ in a medley of Gilbert & Sullivan repertoire.
Earlier this season, Ema returned to Central Jersey Choral Society as the alto soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Mass in Time of War, and performed in a few recitals in the tri-state area.
Last season, Ema made a return to Hudson Opera Theatre as the Alto Soloist in Handel’s Messiah, the Christmas portion. In her home state, Ema joined Light Opera of New Jersey to cover the role of The Old Lady in Bernstein’s Candide. She made a role and company debut with TUNDI Production’s Wagner in Vermont Festival in the role of Schwertleite (Die Walküre) and covered the role of Erda (Das Rheingold). She made a return to Central Jersey Choral Society as the Alto Soloist in Mozart's Requiem, a role debut as Flora in Verdi's La Traviata with The Lighthouse Opera Co., and had the distinct honor of covering the Alto Soloist, as well as singing in the alto section, in “The Ordering of Moses” with The Harlem Chamber Players and Chorale Le Chateau in celebration of Juneteenth and the Harlem Renaissance Centennial, under the baton of Maestro Damien L Sneed. The performance was vastly publicized, including on NBC and ABC news, and positively reviewed by The New York Times.
Despite the strains of the ‘20/’21 pandemic on the artistic world, Ema was thrilled to debut in recital at the esteemed Soapbox Gallery, accompanied by Jason Wirth on piano, for a program celebrating love for Valentine's Day 2021, live streamed. Because of the success of the program, she performed a live encore performance at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar in Nyack, NY in late May ‘21 accompanied by David Budway on piano. Ema has continued building a diverse program of crossover works, singing classical, jazz, and Broadway favorites with Mr. Budway. Her goal has been to present these diverse programs in recital regularly to introduce audiences to more music in an intimate and informal setting, and to break down the stigmas associated with them, such as the myth of opera being only for the elite. The Soapbox Gallery invited Ema back when she curated an arias and duets concert with soprano Savannah Greene and Craig Ketter at the piano, works for and about nature and gardens “In the Garden”. Thrilled to have done so, Ema recorded a commissioned piece, “La Frontera” by Raul Abbad with the New Jersey Youth Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Ensemble, under the baton of Maestra Helen Cha-Pyo. She also made a return to The Lighthouse Opera Company as Annina (La Traviata), both to limited live audience and livestreamed and will also sing Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte) in 2022. There is already an abridged digital performance of Die Zauberflöte available on YouTube, recorded in the style of a “Zoom Concert”, where performers record audio/video of their individual parts from home and all performers are compiled together in post-production for a final performance.
In Spring of 2020, Ms. Mitrović was scheduled to debut in The Bronx Opera Company’s production of Smetana’s The Bartered Bride as Háta, but due to the pandemic, it is being rescheduled in the foreseeable future, hopefully this Fall of 2021. Parts of this production were also made into a Zoom Concert preview and shown live via Culture Pass, a program of the New York Public Library.
Ema did debut with The Oratorio Society of New Jersey and performed her second Handel's Messiah as the alto soloist in December 2020.
During quarantine, she has been incredibly fortunate to keep a full studio of roughly 30+ voice and piano students, at both the non-profit The Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts and privately owned Elefante Music, among her own. As avid a performer, Ema also has a passion for teaching, having done so for 7 years thus far, and aspires to hold both an active performance and teaching career.
Ms. Mitrović is a proud first generation American, whose parents immigrated to the states from former Yugoslavia, now Croatia. She was born and raised in New Jersey, and currently resides in Essex County’s East Orange with her partner, jazz drummer, Timothy Horner.
In 2016, she was seen as Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) and Larina (Eugene Onegin) with Hudson Opera Theatre in Monroe, New York and was distinguished as a core ensemble member in New York City based company, Guided Imagery Opera, in their debut season.
In December of 2015, Ema had the great pleasure of making her debut in the long running Christmas show, A Jazz Nativity-Bending Towards the Light, alongside such names as Tim Horner, Paquito D'Rivera, Ingred Jensen, and Wycliffe Gordon, produced by Kindred Spirits and Chelsea Opera. During the year, she sang in jazz clubs performing a range of music including both classical and jazz.
In 2014, Ema was a finalist for New Jersey State Opera’s Alfredo Silipigni Vocal Competition, a semi-finalist at the 8th Annual Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, and was a featured artist at the NJ National Association of Teachers of Singing “Festival of Singing” where she performed a program of art songs including those by composers Bizet, Britten, and Mahler.
In 2013, Ms. Mitrović was heard as Siébel in a full production of Gounod’s Faust with Hudson Opera Theatre in Middletown, NY where her performance was reviewed as “idyllic” and “bubbly”.
For a full biography and list of repertoire for Ema Mitrovic, please visit Résumé/Repertoire. If you would like to find out more, please Get in Touch!
ABOUT EMA
In 2019, made her debut as the Alto Soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Sullivan County Chamber Orchestra and Ema returned to the Hudson Opera Theatre to reprise Mercédès/Cover Title in Bizet's Carmen and Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, respectively.
She also performed the role of Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, in English, with New York Performing Arts Theatre in May.
Ema performed as a guest artist in the title role of Hansel in New Jersey City University's fall production of Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel. She was one of 40 semifinalists in the 2018 Vermont Vocal Competition hosted by Barn Opera at the Brandon Town Hall Theatre.
In 2018, Ema made 3 different company and role debuts, alto soloist in Antonin Dvořák’s Requiem with Central Jersey Choral Society, Mrs. McLean (Susannah) with The Lighthouse Opera Company in Bronx, NY, and sang as a back-up singer, Alto 2, for the hologram tour "In Dreams" - Roy Orbison in Concert at the Tilles Center. She also returned to Hudson Opera Theatre as Annina (La Traviata) and Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor).
During 2017, Ema was seen as Mercédès (Carmen) Amore Opera, NYC, as Spirit Mother in The Birth of the Wild Heart by Pamela Stein Lynde and Joule L’Adara of Guided Imagery Opera NYC, Tisbe (La Cenerentola "excerpts"), and as Dritte Dame in an abridged performance of Die Zauberflöte with Opera Theatre of Montclair, NJ. She also performed works by Anne Phillips’ "What are we doing to Our World?” and “That Certain Age” presented by Chelsea Opera and Kindred Spirits.