Soprano Christina Dragnea, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, is a junior at Indiana University currently pursuing a degree in vocal performance under the tutelage of Patricia Stiles. Dragnea started her vocal study at the age of 14 under former Metropolitan opera soloist Louise Wohlafka, with whom she still studies. In the summer of 2013, Dragnea participated in the International Lyric Academy summer program for young singers in Viterbo, Italy, where she performed the role of “Sorella Cercatrice” in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Dragnea has performed with numerous choruses both at IU and elsewhere, including the University Singers, Bloomington Chamber Singers, IU Summer Chorus, University Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and IU Opera Chorus. Productions have included Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem (choral direction by Dr. Betsy Burleigh), Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (direction by Will Perkins), Jake Hegge’s Dead Man Walking, Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and Britten’s Peter Grimes, with choral direction by Walter Huff. At Indiana University, Dragnea was a soloist for the University Singers’ performance of Mozart’s Requiem in D minor under the baton of Dr. Jaeeun Kim. Understudied roles and solos at IU have included the role of “Damon” for IU Summer Chorus’s production of Acis and Galatea, directed by Dr. Dominick DiOrio, and “Rejoice,” from Handel’s Messiah, directed by Dr. Betsy Burleigh. Last summer, Dragnea attended the Berlin Opera Academy program under the Lily Comer Memorial Scholarship, performing the role of “Second Spirit” in The Magic Flute. Apart from her voice studies, Dragnea enjoys playing the piano and dancing. She is currently the soprano section leader at the First Presbyterian Church in Martinsville, Indiana, where she performs regularly.
