NKenge Performing at Opera at the White House/ Maureen Francis Coloratura soprano

NKenge at 17 won the Lena Horne Singing Competition Scholarship, the ASCAP Leiber and Stoller Award and the Leontyne Price Vocal Competition. N’Kenge was crowned Miss Manhattan in the Miss America Pageant which led to appearances on television. These included Good Morning America which led to a chance to perform the National Anthem for “The Mets” at Shea Stadium. She spent her summers performing at Music Festivals in Europe, Israel, and the Czech Republic and it is therefore no surprise that she can sing fluently in ten different languages! Anyone who has witnessed a performance by singer N’Kenge is not only amazed by the incredible power and range of her voice, they are often surprised at the sheer range of credits and accolades she has accumulated in a very short time. These include the White House where she sang for President Bill Clinton, London’s West End at the Theatre Royal in a tribute to the late great Ray Charles, solo engagements in New York at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, even a worldwide broadcast by NPR from the Library of Congress in Washington, DC highlight the extent to which her star has risen. Soprano Maureen Francis is quickly gaining attention not only with a voice that has a warm and silvery timbre, but the presence in scenes to garner acting awards. "Her petite size conceals a rich and amazingly flexible voice: she definitely resembles a Broadway star more than the stereotypical Brunhilde. She actually looks and sounds like the role Verdi created." Rigoletto, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, TN (Chattanoogan.com). This season Ms. Francis made her debut with Omaha Opera as Mabel in their production of The Pirates of Penzance and is thrilled to bring her Musetta to Chattanooga Symphony and Opera for her third consecutive season. www.nkenge.net and www.maureenfrancis.com