HERMAN — A health crisis last summer has led to a return to her roots for internationally famous opera singer and Knoch High School graduate Marianne Cornetti.

Cornetti will perform “Then Sings My Soul: Celebrating 30 Years of An Operatic Career and a Lifetime of Song.” The concert of hymns starts at 4 p.m. Feb. 9 at St. Mary of the Assumption Church 821 Herman Road,

Cornetti, a native of Cabot, was a member of St. Mary and began singing in its choir at age 12 before going to become widely acclaimed as one of the greatest Verdi mezzo-sopranos of her time.

Cornetti cites her Butler County upbringing for helping cement her success over the years.

“I credit this area for a lot that's been given to me,” she said during a 2014 visit to Knoch High School.

Cornetti said this week the genesis of her series of church concerts began last summer when she was hospitalized for sepsis.

“I was one sick puppy,” she said. “There were some dark nights when you lay there and think, 'How did my life get here?'”

“I decided that I wanted to give back to those churches and communities that gave me my start,” Cornetti said. “They afforded me the chance to build my confidence as a soloist as I got older.”

She stated those appearances were the beginning of a journey that would take her all over the world, to all the major opera houses and place her in all her dream roles.

The Rev. Jim Kurtz, the parochial vicar at St. Mary's, said Cornetti's late mother, Pat, used to be an organist for the church.

“She grew up in this parish,” he said.

“Everybody's familiar with her. She comes to church at St. Joseph in Cabot. I guess that's where her brother goes,” Kurtz said.

The “Then Sings My Soul” concert Marianne and pianist Bryan Sable have been presenting at churches throughout Western Pennsylvania this year is also in honor of Cornetti's 30th anniversary of her professional career.

“Nov. 4, 2019, marked my 30th anniversary of appearing with the Pittsburgh Opera in the role of Erste Magd in Strauss' 'Elektra,'” she said.

Cornetti went on to sing at major opera houses all over the world: Milan, Florence, the Vienna State Opera, Rome, Munich, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Tokyo, Shanghai, and at the Metropolitan Opera.

Cornetti and Sable have performed two concerts already and have five more lined up after their visit to St. Mary.

“She's singing her favorite hymns,” said Kurtz.

“She approached the church and asked to do this,” he said. “

This sacred concert will feature Cornetti's favorites such as “Deep River,” “It Is Well With My Soul,” “Every Time I Feel The Spirit,” and the famous setting of “The Lord's Prayer,” by Albert Malotte. The concert will be a mixture of traditional settings, and some of Sable and Cornetti's own arrangements.

Cornetti said, “I've always wanted to do a religious music concert.

“I'm going to weave in stories that are very, very important to me, things that have happened to me that are very poignant,” she said.

The Feb. 9 concert will benefit the Cabot United Methodist Food Bank and the food cupboards at St. John's and St. Mary's.

Admission for this concert will be a suggested donation of $20, but, no one will be turned away. Additional offerings will also be accepted to benefit the Cabot UMC Food Bank and Food Cupboards of St. John's and St. Mary's.

Cornetti said the concerts have already raised $17,000 for various food banks.

For the upcoming concert, Cornetti said Penn United Technologies has pledged to match contributions up to $5,000.

“It would warm my heart, if we could raise a lot of money for the communities,” she said.

Kurtz said the concert will take place in the church itself which can hold up to 400 people.

The concerts add to the singer's already crowded schedule.

At the end of October she was named artistic director of the Pittsburgh Festival Opera.

“I'm in charge of all the artistic decisions and fundraising,” she said, in advance of the Pittsburgh Festival Opera's production in July of “Pagliacci.”

She's also on the voice faculty at Carnegie-Mellon University and is planning to sing in the opera “Mahagonny” in Italy in May.

“It's juggling a lot, but I'm having a ball doing it,” she said.

WHAT: Internationally famous opera singer Marianne Cornetti performs “Then Sings My Soul: Celebrating 30 Years of An Operatic Career and a Lifetime of Song”WHEN: 4 p.m. Feb. 9WHERE: St. Mary of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church, 821 Herman RoadINFO: Reception to follow at the Herman Volunteer Fire Department fire hall, 789 Herman Road. Proceeds to benefit the Cabot Methodist Food Bank and the food cupboards of St. Mary and St. John.