Second-year Butler Studio artist Elizabeth Hanje, a Tanzanian-American soprano from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, was the first-place winner at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. In the 2025-26 HGO season, Hanje sings the roles of Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess, First Alms Sister in Suor Angelica (Il trittico), Madeleine Audebert in Silent Night, and Gertrude in Family Day Hansel and Gretel. In the summer of 2025, Hanje was an Apprentice Singer for Santa Fe Opera, where she covered the role of Gerhilde in Die Walküre. Hanje has also been a Young Artist with Merola Opera Program (2024) and an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera (2023). In fall 2024, she made her mainstage debut with HGO as Ines in Il trovatore. In April 2023, she performed the role of Lyra in Alice Tierney in her debut with Opera Columbus. Hanje was the first-place winner at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias and is a 2022 alumna of HGO’s Young Artist Vocal Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory.