Young women of 14 might be shy and retiring, preferring to remain in the background in life — unless they happen to be opera singers.

McKenna Jones, a Knoch High School freshman, recently performed in her fourth opera, Pittsburgh Opera’s “Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci,” with none other than Knoch alumna Marianne Cornetti.

McKenna sang in a chorus of youngsters playing children excited for Easter while onstage with Cornetti, who is internationally recognized as one of the leading Verdi mezzo-sopranos of her generation.

“She was the sweetest principal,” McKenna said. “She was high-fiving all the kids.”

McKenna’s mother, Renee Jones, said although Cornetti is an actual diva, she is extremely approachable and down-to-earth.

She was delighted to witness Cornetti talking to the children in the opera, who were gathered around her.

“They were hanging on every word this legitimate diva is saying,” Renee Jones said.

McKenna has filled her family’s home with song since she was very small, so her mother enrolled her in the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus Neighborhood Training Choir, a branch of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus that offers classes in the neighborhoods surrounding the Steel City.

“My sister used to sing with them in the ’80s and that’s how we knew about it,” Renee Jones said of the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus.

McKenna was 6 when she joined the training choir.

“I was never in a choir before, but it was cool to meet new people and sing,” she said.

At age 8, McKenna auditioned for Pittsburgh Youth Chorus so professionals there could determine where she would be placed in the chorus.

She continues to sing with the choir today, even though she is 14.

“They made a high school group recently, so now I’m with them,” McKenna said.

Renee Jones, who is on the choir’s board of directors, said the organization has a relationship with the Pittsburgh Opera, so youngsters can be gleaned for performances.

McKenna first sang opera in “Carmen” as a sixth-grader. Renee Jones recalls picking her up from her first rehearsal.

“She said, ‘When the adults sang, it was like there were angels in the room,’” Renee Jones said.

McKenna said she didn’t want to sing opera at first, but had friends who did.

“I got the opportunity to sing opera, so I did it,” she said. “It’s more challenging.”

She said she used the basic operatic singing techniques she learned at the Pittsburgh Youth Chorus when singing in the operas in which she has performed.

“It was kind of nice to use those,” McKenna recalled of singing in “Carmen.”

She recalled the very first opera her parents took her to as a very young child.

“Just hearing their voices was crazy,” McKenna said.

The young woman retains that amazement all these years later, as she told of a principal singer during “Cavalleria Rusticana” who was not feeling well.

Despite her malaise, the singer soldiered on, performing the role of Santuzza beautifully.

“You couldn’t even tell she was sick, because her voice was so good,” McKenna said.

She said although she has performed on stage in four operas, she has not gotten over the soaring and dramatic voices of the principal singers.

“At (Cavalleria Rusticana), when Marianne and the other adults were singing, it was so beautiful, it gave me the shivers,” McKenna said.

Her dream role is Elphaba in “Wicked,” which she saw at age 9 at the Benedum Center.

“That was my first musical I ever watched,” McKenna said. “It has a place in my heart.”

These days, when she attends an opera, McKenna can pick out the physiology of a singer’s throat when they hit certain notes or use specific techniques.

“It’s crazy that people can just sing like that, right?” she said.

McKenna also marveled at the skill of the maestro in the show, who could pick out individual voices in a chorus and give direction to them.

She said in one song, the youths in the chorus had to sing in a very nasal, childlike way.

“It would hurt my ears,” McKenna said. “The maestro cringed and said ‘Yeah, that’s it.’”

The young singer is now practicing the singing style known as “belting.”

“I like feeling powerful when I sing,” she said.

McKenna’s talent and appearances on the Pittsburgh Opera stage have not gone unnoticed by those at the school district.

“McKenna having the opportunity to share her talent on a professional stage is wonderful. The fact that she also has the chance to perform alongside Cornetti has to be a dream come true,” said David Foley, Knoch superintendent. “Marianne is not only a fellow Knoch graduate, but she has performed in so many outstanding venues around the world.

“We are all really proud of them both and wish McKenna well as she moves forward with her career.”

Obviously, her parents are thrilled with their teenager.

“I am so proud of her,” Megan said. “She is very passionate about singing, so her dad and I are both very happy to support her.”