JoAna Rusche has been praised by Opera News for being “notably sweet-voiced.”  She is an alumna of the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she performed the roles of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fiora in L'amore dei tre re, Tamara in The Demon, and the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. With Opera North, she performed the title role in La Cenerentola, where she was hailed as “an effervescent Cinderella” and was praised for managing “Rossini's florid lines with flair and warmth” (Rutland Herald). As a young artist with Palm Beach Opera, she premiered the role of Sheva Haddas in the world premiere of Enemies, A Love Story and sang the role of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia as an understudy. She spent three summers at the Caramoor International Music Festival, now Teatro Nuovo, where she was seen as Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites. She has recently performed as the alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah and Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion with the Messiah Festival of the Arts. She is a two-time District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received second place in the Birmingham Opera Competition and the Heafner-Williams Vocal Competition, and first place in the Long Leaf Opera National Vocal Competition. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Central Arkansas.