Yvonne Ciannella

Yvonne Regina Ciannella (July 25, 1926 – March 1, 2022) was an American coloratura soprano in opera and concert. She began her career performing and recording with the Robert Shaw Chorale in the early 1950s. After graduate voice studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, she embarked on a career as an opera singer; working mainly in Germany at the Staatstheater Braunschweig, Theater Bonn, and Theater Dortmund during the 1960s. She also appeared as a guest artist with opera companies in Berlin, Cologne, Florida, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Vienna. For many years she was a member of the voice faculty of the College of Music at Florida State University.

Career Born in New York City, Ciannella earned a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Queens College, City University of New York. A Fulbright Scholarship enabled her to pursue further studies in voice at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg in Austria.

In 1951 Ciannella was the soprano soloist in Haydn's Missa brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo with the Interracial Fellowship Chorus (IFC) under conductor Harold Aks at Town Hall in Manhattan.