About
, Soprano, is a versatile talent with a broad range of experience in the performing arts. Her early studies were with her mother, also a singer. In her mid-teens she became a scholarship student of the late world-famous singer, Maria Kurenko, and she also studied Ballet on scholarship from Maria Nevelska of the Bolshoi Theatre. Drama studies were with Wynn Handman of the American Place Theatre, and studies in Stage Direction were with the late Lloyd Richards of the Yale Drama School. Diana received a scholarship to the Voice Department of the Juilliard School of Music and she completed her Bachelor and Masters Degrees at Hunter College. Her studies were supported by professional engagements, and she regularly appeared in leading theatres nationally, playing such roles as Baby June in Gypsy, Marsinah in Kismet, Maria in West Side Story, Tuptim in The King and I, Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Antonia in Man of La Mancha. She toured Germany, Austria, Spain, and Switzerland as Maria in West Side Story.
She was Guest Soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, The Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, The Columbus and Dayton Philharmonic Orchestras, Star Soloist in national tours of America Sings, and in special appearances at Madison Square Garden, St. Petersburg and Atlantic City Convention Centers. Concert tours include solo concerts throughout southeast Asia under the auspices of the U.S. State Departments, and Canada. As a young performer with the Metropolitan Opera young performers division, she sang Musetta in La Boheme, Rosina in Barber of Seville, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Norina in Don Pasquale, Infanta in Birthday of the Infanta and others. Diana performed leading dramatic roles for CBS Television, starring in Consuelo, Culture of Poverty, American Theatre Salute. On film she was featured in Pyramid, Some Call Them Freaks, Manchurian Candidate
Diana has combined performing activities with services to not for profit organizations. Working with such theatre notables as Theodore Mann from Circle in the Square Theatre, the late Alfredo Silipigni of New Jersey State Opera, Paul Griffiths of the New York Times, Makvala Kasrashvili from the Bolshoi Theatre, she has garnered excellent reviews for her productions from The New York Times, The New York Post, Newark Star Ledger, Palm Springs Daily, Time Out/New York, The Washington Post, The American Record Review, and Channel 21. As Educator she has taught Drama for the Musical Theatre at Pace University. She is recipient of the William Sullivan Award, the Merwyn Daughtry Award, and the Turk Foundation Vocal Awards. Diana is listed in Who’s Who in America, and Who’s Who in American Women.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
“Ms. Corto is the most reliable and honest person that I know. Her relationships with the artists and administrative personnel connected with our professional work together is of the highest order. Ms. Corto is a person who successfully completes whatever responsibilities and productions that she undertakes. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with her.”
– Theodore Mann, Circle in the Square Theatre
“Diana Corto, whom we represent, is a person of high musical accomplishment and experience with a thorough knowledge of vocal capabilities. I strongly recommend her.”
– Robert Gewald, Robert Gewald Management
“As Artistic Director, Diana Corto made excellent choices in selecting Paisiello’s La Molinara and Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta to introduce the Town Hall’s opera initiative. The quality of the singing was high and the audiences were very pleased with the performances. The two operas received excellent reviews from the press, including The New York Times, Italian, Russian, and French newspapers. “
– Lawrence C. Zucker, Executive Dir. Town Hall
