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. She is a 2022 alumna of HGO’s Young Artist Vocal Academy and a 2023 alumna of the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Program. 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), Madeline Audebert in Silent Night, and Gertrude in the Family Day performance of Hansel and Gretel. Hanje was a 2025 Apprentice Singer for Santa Fe Opera, where she covered the role of Gerhilde in Die Walküre. In fall 2024, she made her mainstage debut with HGO as Ines in Il trovatore. In April 2022, she performed the role of Lyra in Alice Tierney in her debut with Opera Columbus. Hanje has sung in masterclasses with director Michael Capasso, soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, and soprano Harolyn Blackwell. She is a winner of the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition and the 2022 George Shirley Vocal Competition. In 2021, she received the Richard Miller Award for Fine Singing and a YoungArts Award. Hanje holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory.