Photo by André Peele
Praised for her "nimble verve and charm" (CNVC), Houston-based soprano Margaret Ann Zentner most recently graduated from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a Performance Artist Certificate and Master of Music under the tutelage of Dr. Marilyn Taylor. During her time at UNCSA, Zentner was featured as Linda in Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix, Celia in John Musto’s Volpone, Servilia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Sandrina in Manuel Garcia’s Un avvertimento ai gelosi, and Concepción in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole. In scenes, she also portrayed the roles of Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, Tatiana in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Leïla in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles, the title role in Massenet’s Manon, and Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.
Zentner is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera’s prestigious Young Artists Vocal Academy, the 2021 North Carolina District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and most recently a 2022 Encouragement Award winner from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Other notable recognitions include first-place winner of the North Carolina/Virginia region in the Dorothy Lincoln Smith Competition, third-place from the Hal Leonard Art Song Competition, first-place from the Opera Cultura Canto Competition, semifinalist in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition, and second-place from the John Alexander National Vocal Competition.
Ms. Zentner holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University, where she studied with Dr. Loraine Sims. There, she performed the 1st trio member in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff and Susanna (cover) in Le nozze di Figaro with the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera.
During her time at LSU, Zentner also appeared as a soloist with the LSU A Cappella Choir and the LSU Symphony Orchestra in multiple works including an excerpt from Handel’s Messiah and Craig Hella Johnson’s Considering Matthew Shepard. In her senior year, Zentner had the honor of sharing the stage with notable alumni Lisette Oropesa and Paul Groves in a scene from Puccini’s La rondine, conducted by Maestro Joseph Colaneri.
Also active during the summer, Zentner has appeared as an Apprentice Artist with the Miami Music Festival for two summers, most recently performing Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. She also holds a minor in Italian from LSU, and prior to her time in Miami, Zentner traveled to Italy where she performed Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Operafestival di Roma.
A native of Monroe, Louisiana, Zentner has performed multiple roles with local opera company the Louisiana Opera, including, Frasquita in La tragédie de Carmen, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and Sister Mathilde in Dialogues of the Carmelites. In 2012, at the age of 15, she was a first-place winner in the American Fine Arts Festival and awarded her solo debut in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. In 2017, she was the Featured Artist for the Monroe Symphony Orchestra’s annual Christmas POPS Concert, in which she performed many holiday favorites.