Athlone Artists has announced that soprano Susan Hellman Spatafora will be joining the organization’s roster.

Known throughout the stages of Florida, Spatafora has performed with Palm Beach Opera, Opera Tampa, Sarasota Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Central City Opera, South Florida Lyric Opera, and Green Mountain Opera. In December of last year, she took on the role of Rosalinde in Opera Orlando’s production of “Die Fledermaus,” in what was their first live staging since the pandemic started. In March she will make her role debut as Leonora in Opera Tampa’s production of “Il Trovatore,” and in April will appear as Cio-Cio-San in “Butterfly’s Flight.”

“These magical roles – Rosalinde, Leonora and Cio-Cio-San – that I have had the opportunity to play during the time of COVID will always hold a special place in my heart,” says Spatafora.

In addition to being a singer, Spatafora has served as the associate director of development for St. Petersburg Opera in Florida, where she learned firsthand what it takes to put a production together.

“I learned that you need to be extraordinarily kind to the people who run the company,” she said. “There are so many people that go into a production. It’s not just about the singer. And I think that is important when you are onstage singing, recognizing that. It gives me a sense of comfort, maybe takes a little bit of pressure off, knowing that there are so many people supporting and surrounding a production.”