Jessye Mae Norman was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert and recital stages, Norman was associated with roles including Beethoven's Leonore, Wagner's Sieglinde and Kundry, Berlioz's Cassandre and Didon, and Bartók's Judith. The New York Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound", and wrote that "it has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas. It contains sunlit rooms, narrow passageways, cavernous halls."
Kevin Burdette is an American bass who has worked as a soloist with the Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Teatro Colón, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Boston Lyric Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and the Spoleto Festival USA, as well as many regional opera companies including Florentine Opera, Opéra de Québec, Portland Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Atlanta Opera, Virginia Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Memphis, Gotham Chamber Opera, Knoxville Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Toledo Opera, and the Lyric Opera of San Antonio. He has created multiple roles, including Beck Weathers in Joby Talbot's Everest, Eric Gold and the Ghost of Bazzetti in Jake Heggie's Great Scott, Papinou in Talbot's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Ob in Mark Adamo's Becoming Santa Claus, all with Dallas Opera, and Blindman and Stobrod Thewes in Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain, Manuel Toulon in Huang Ruo's M. Butterfly, Correspondent in John Corigliano's Lord of Cries, and Henry B. Isaacson and Justice Wills in Theo Morrison's Oscar, all with Santa Fe Opera.
Valerian Ruminski is an American operatic bass. He is the founder and artistic director of Nickel City Opera, in Buffalo, New York.
Stephanie Blythe is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international career in operas and concerts since the early 1990s. She is particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, with whom she has performed annually since her debut with the company in 1995. In 2014 she starred as Gertrude Stein in the world premiere of 27, an opera composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with libretto by Royce Vavrek, and commissioned for her by the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Monica Yunus is an American operatic soprano who has performed with many opera companies and music ensembles. She is the daughter of Bangladeshi social entrepreneur, banker, Nobel laureate economist and eventual chief adviser Muhammad Yunus. About her singing quality reviewers from US dailies, The New York Times, the Charleston City Paper and the Palm Beach Daily News have described her voice as "especially winning", "utterly captivating" and "a voice destined for super-stardom" respectively. Her voice's performance range lies from a low A (A3) to a high F (F6). She performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 2003-2014; appearing in several broadcasts of Metropolitan Opera Live in HD.
Michael Maniaci is an American opera singer. Possessing a male soprano voice, Maniaci is noted for his claim to be able to sing into the upper soprano range without resorting to falsetto, an otherwise common phonation for men who sing in high registers, such as countertenors. Although this was possible for castrati because of the hormonal imbalance following castration, Maniaci claims that, for some unknown reason, his larynx did not develop and lengthen completely during puberty, causing his voice not to "break" in the usual manner. Maniaci claims that this physical particularity has given him the ability to sing in the soprano register without sounding like a typical countertenor or a female singer. There are, however, critics who claim that Maniaci actually sings in falsetto.
The Richard Tucker Music Foundation, founded in 1975, was created in honor of American opera singer Richard Tucker. The foundation is best known for awarding the annual Richard Tucker award, given to a young opera singer "on the threshold of a major international career," and for hosting the associated annual gala and concert.
Christine Goerke is an American dramatic soprano.
Joyce DiDonato is an American opera singer and recitalist. A coloratura mezzo-soprano, she has performed operas and concert works spanning from the 19th-century Romantic era to those by Handel and Mozart.
Dennis McNeil, is an American operatic tenor, musical theater performer, and concert singer. He was educated at Miraleste Intermediate School, Loyola High School (1978), the Institute for the American Musical, the Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera, and UC-Davis (1983).
Meagan Miller is an American soprano with an active international career in opera, recital and concert.
Laura Elise Schwendinger was the first composer to win the American Academy in Berlin's Berlin Prize.
Stephanie Novacek is an American operatic mezzo-soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses. A regular performer at the Houston Grand Opera and Opera Atelier, Novacek is especially known for her performances in contemporary operas and in obscure operas, particularly baroque works, outside of the standard repertory. Opera News has described her voice as a "rich, seamless flow of solid silk" and an actress "with always a strong presence on stage".
Chad Shelton is an American operatic tenor. Particularly associated with the Houston Grand Opera (HGO), Shelton has excelled in performances of contemporary American operas and in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Giuseppe Verdi. He has appeared in numerous world premieres with the HGO including Laurie in Mark Adamo's Little Women (1998), Nico in Adamo's Lysistrata (2005), and Ulises in Daniel Catán's Salsipuedes: a Tale of Love, War and Anchovies (2004) among others. He also sang the role of Brigadier General Edward Porter Alexander in the world premiere of Philip Glass's Appomattox at the San Francisco Opera (2007).
Shoshana is a Hebrew feminine first name. It is the name of at least two women in the Bible and, via Σουσάννα, it developed into such European and Christian names as Susanna, Susan, Susanne, Susana, Susannah, Suzanne, Susie, Suzie, Sanna and Zuzana. In Ethiopia it became Sosie, Sosina, Sosena, while in North Africa it yielded Sawsen and Sawsan.
Liam Bonner is a retired professional opera singer (baritone) from Pittsburgh, PA.
Ailyn Pérez is an American operatic soprano known for her interpretation of Violetta, Mimì and Thaïs. She is a 2019 Opera News Awards Honoree, and the winner of the 2012 Richard Tucker Award. In 2016, she received the $50,000 Beverly Sills Award and the 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence from the Sphinx Organization.
Ryan Speedo Green is an American bass-baritone opera singer.
Julia Bullock is a Grammy-winning American soprano originally from St. Louis, Missouri. Anthony Tommasini from The New York Times has called her an "impressive, fast-rising soprano... poised for a significant career”.
Nikki Li Hartliep is a Japanese-born American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world.
