Florida Grand Opera Trains Miss Florida for Miss America Talent Competition

Florida Grand Opera Interim General Director Maria Todaro has announced that FGO will support Miss Florida, Juliette Valle, with special training for her Miss America Competition talent segment. Ms. Valle, an aspiring operatic soprano, plans to compete with “Sempre libera” from Verdi’s La traviata, which also happens to be the opening opera in FGO's current season.

“We are so thrilled to work with this talented young artist again as she prepares for the Miss America competition,” said Todaro. “Juliette Valle is representing Florida on the national stage, and FGO not only has close to a century-long history of representing grand opera in Florida, but is internationally recognized for its work with young artists through the Studio Artist Program. Juliette is a lovely young woman inside and out, and she is also hard-working, genuine, and appreciative. We are so happy to be able to support her in this way and will be cheering her all the way to the crown!”

As part of her training curriculum, Ms. Valle is studying voice and Italian diction with Samuel M. Townsend Studio Artist Manager and renowned bass-baritone Neil Nelson and acting with Todaro (a well-known stage director) and Director of Artistic Administration and critically acclaimed stage director Matt Cooksey. She will also receive marketing and publicity advice tailored to the opera industry, and other opportunities such as informal chat sessions with the Florida Grand Opera Studio Artists, the chance to observe the behind-the-scenes workings of a professional company, and introductions to board members, donors, and audience members. FGO will also host a private dress rehearsal for her talent performance, giving Valle the opportunity to sing her aria in front of a crowd of industry insiders and supporters before she does so on national television in the high-stakes Miss America Competition.

At age 14, Valle participated in Florida Grand Opera's Young Artist Learning Academy. “I knew from then on that I wanted to be a part of FGO for life,” Valle says. “I am in utter disbelief that I am able to train with them again, eight years later, under such extraordinary circumstances. I am so lucky to be under the guidance of Neil Nelson, my phenomenal and talented teacher, who is helping take my Miss America piece apart and reconstructing it to be professional quality. I am also indebted to Maria Todaro, the General Director of the FGO, who took a chance on me and gave me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is because of her that I am able to work with the incredible and dedicated FGO staff to deliver a Miss America performance that will leave a lasting impression. My greatest hope is to make my FGO family proud and to bring more awareness to the opera world!”

Valle is a graduate of the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in broadcast journalism, musical theater and classical vocal performance. While in school, she worked as a reporter for UMTV. Her academic excellence landed her on the Dean's List, the Provost Honor Roll, and the exclusive Senior Spotlight honors list. She hosts a YouTube show, “The Silver Lining,” where she interviews prominent figures in the Miss America Organization and transplant recipients or donors, and also serves as a national ambassador for Donate Life America and the National Kidney Foundation, actively advocating for chronic kidney disease prevention and awareness. In 2021, the Miami Herald recognized Valle as one of fourteen Hispanic Women of Distinction, and she is the youngest-ever recipient of the "Up & Comer Latina Award."

After the Miss America competition in January 2024, Valle intends to audition for graduate schools, pursuing a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance with the goal of singing opera fulltime.

“FGO prides itself on encouraging and empowering future female leaders like Juliette Valle. We wish her every success and hope that she will follow in the footsteps of great artists like soprano Elizabeth Caballero who worked in our box office, became a Studio Artist, and went on to an international career, or baritone Troy Cook, a former Studio Artist who sang Germont in our recent production of La traviata,” says Todaro. “We are thrilled to support young, hard-working artists like Juliette and we would love to see her return to our stage one day.”

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