American soprano Emily Pogorelc is praised by critics and audiences alike for her soaring, unique voice and captivating stage presence. Not yet thirty years old, Pogorelc has firmly established herself in a thriving career, consistently dazzling on many of the world’s top stages. In her 2024 Metropolitan Opera debut, Pogorelc “astonished in every way imaginable…[she] filled the stage with…a fantastic lyric coloratura, bright and crystalline. Her movement was filled with great flexibility and charisma…she lit up the stage every time…” (OperaWire).
American soprano Emily Pogorelc is praised by critics and audiences alike for her soaring, unique voice and captivating stage presence. Not yet thirty years old, Pogorelc has firmly established herself in a thriving career, consistently dazzling on many of the world’s top stages. In her 2024 Metropolitan Opera debut, Pogorelc “astonished in every way imaginable…[she] filled the stage with…a fantastic lyric coloratura, bright and crystalline. Her movement was filled with great flexibility and charisma…she lit up the stage every time…” (OperaWire).
Emily Pogorelc’s stellar 2025/26 season begins at Opernhaus Zürich with her house and role debut as Sophie in the premiere of Lydia Steier’s new production of Der Rosenkavalier, led by Joana Mallwitz. With the Wiener Staatsoper, she makes another auspicious house and role debut as Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff under the baton of Pier Giorgio Morandi, after which she joins Salzburg’s Mozartwoche in the role of Pamina in Rolando Villazón’s staging of Die Zauberflöte. In a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper, Pogorelc sees her first performances of the titular Marie in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride under the musical leadership of Tomáš Hanus, followed by her Dutch National Opera debut as Susanna in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro by Kirill Serebrennikov and conducted by Francesco Corti. Subsequently, she returns to Dresden’s Semperoper for performances as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and concludes her opera season with a debut at the Santander Festival, reprising the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.
On the concert stage, Pogorelc twice collaborates this season with Mo Manfred Honeck, first with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in an all-Strauss concert, followed by her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah. She sees her first performances as soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Marie Jacquot leading Royal Danish Orchestra, and makes her role and company debut with Washington Concert Opera as Leïla in a concert performance of Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles.
Operatic highlights of recent seasons include Pogorelc’s Metropolitan Opera debut as Lisette in Puccini’s La rondine, received to unanimous acclaim and followed closely by reengagements as Musetta in La bohème and as Pamina in The Magic Flute, in Julie Taymor’s classic holiday presentation. Additionally in the US, Pogorelc reprised Musetta in her company debut for the Dallas Opera, led by music director Emmanuel Villaume; celebrated another role debut, Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; made her Washington National Opera company debut as Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide; and saw her first performances as Violetta Valéry in La traviata, a role she also brought to Semperoper Dresden. She was additionally heard in Dresden as Amina in Rolando Villazón’s new production of La sonnambula and as Juliette in Romeo et Juliette. With the Bayerische Staatsoper, acclaimed portrayals include Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ilia in Idomeneo, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Xenia in Boris Godunov, and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel. With the Royal Danish Opera, she made her company and role debut singing Servilia in La clemenza di Tito, which also served as the vehicle for her debut with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. She was heard as Norma in Marina Abramovic’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, and debuted at the Glyndebourne Festival as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro.
Engagements in concert, a pillar of Pogorelc’s career, include a recent debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and conductor Bassem Akiki in a “Night at the Proms” concert, performances in Ljubljana with the String Quartet of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Slovenian cellist Jaka Stadler, performances as soprano soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Bertrand de Billy, her solo recital debut with Vocal Arts DC at the Kennedy Center, and a concert in London with The Mozartists in a program of arias written and heard by Mozart in 1771. This performance, under the baton of Ian Page, was released by Signum Classics on “Sturm und Drang, Vol. 3.” In Salzburg, Pogorelc made her Salzburg Festival debut in the highly regarded Mozart Matinees under the baton of conductor Roberto González-Monjas; made her Salzburg Easter Festival in Mendelssohn’s Elias conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev; sang performances of the role of Aminta in Mozart’s Il re pastore in DomQuartier’s Rittersaal; collaborated with the Camerata Salzburg presenting selected Mozart arias; was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado, and debuted in concert with the Mozartwoche Festival. A frequent collaborator with Rolando Villazón, Pogorelc has appeared with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra at Klassikfestival in Bucharest, in an open-air gala in Bratislava, and at the Luxembourg Philharmonie, with Gustavo Gimeno conducting a program featuring works by Verdi, Donizetti, and Bizet.
Pogorelc has received prizes from Placido Domingo’s Operalia, the inaugural Glyndebourne Opera Cup, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera Index, the Hal Leonard Art Song Competition, and the Dominick Argento Competition. A graduate of the Curtis Institute, Pogorelc was a participant in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, and a member of the Ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. The soprano is a proud native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
© CSAM, August 2025
