About Ceferina

British-Argentine Soprano Ceferina Penny recently made her company debut with Scottish Opera in their Opera Highlights  Tour. In 2024/25 she was a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio (NOS), where she was a Sybil Tutton Award holder. She previously completed her undergraduate and master’s studies at the Royal College of Music as a Charles Ravel Scholar. 

Upon beginning her studies in 2018, she made her professional debut with ENO as The Slave in Salome, at the London Coliseum. In  2023, Ceferina performed the role of Susanna  in Le nozze di Figaro at the Château de Panloy, Port-d’Enveaux, with Westminster Opera Company. At NOS, she has performed scenes as Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw) , Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Musetta (La Bohème), Ilia (Idomeneo), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi) and Ännchen (Der Freischütz). 

Recent concert work comprises of Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate (Westminster Opera Company), Brahms Liebeslieder Walzer and Schumann Spanisches Liebeslieder (Conway Hall), Soprano II Soloist in Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor (Cohen Ensemble), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Woodbridge Choral Society) and Haydn’s Nelson Mass (West London Chorus). In June 2024, she performed as ‘Solveig’ in excerpts from Peer Gynt with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Cadogan Hall) conducted by Adam Hickox. 

Thus far, Ceferina has been selected and taken part in masterclasses with Dame Ann Murray, Sir Thomas Allen, Véronique Gens and Michael Chance CBE, amongst others. Ceferina was delighted to be asked to record for and appear in the final ever episode of ITV’s popular series ‘Endeavour’, which was filmed at Blenheim Palace. In June 2023, Ceferina was the recipient of the Audience Prize in the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards, which took place at the Wigmore Hall.  

As a Britten Pears Young Artist 24/25, Ceferina won the Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award and received coaching on French Mélodie by leading professionals, Véronique Gens, Susan Manoff and Audrey Hyland.  Last Summer, Ceferina returned to Britten Pears Arts, giving a recital of Lieder and Mélodie as part of the Aldeburgh Festival.

Upcoming engagements include her role debut as Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi or ‘Where there’s a will’) with OperaUpClose and Fauré Requiem with the Aurora Orchestra and Britten Pears Arts. Ceferina is an Opera Prelude Artist 2026 and this Summer, will be a Garsington Alvarez Emerging Artist, singing the role of Milliner (Der Rosenkavalier) and covering Gwendolen Fairfax (The Importance of Being Earnest). Later in the Summer, she will make her full role debut as Musetta in La Bohème with Waterperry Opera Festival.