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).
The 2024/25 season is marked by an impressive four house debuts and three role debuts, showcasing Pogorelc’s versatility and growing international presence. She commences thus in her role debut as Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s La traviata, first for the Detroit Opera directed by Francesca Zambello and later in a return to the Semperoper Dresden under the baton of Gaetano d’Espinosa. Following her immensely successful Metropolitan Opera debut, she was immediately reengaged as Musetta in La bohème and as Pamina in The Magic Flute, in Julie Taymor’s classic holiday presentation. Pogorelc makes her house debut at the Dallas Opera also as Musetta in La bohème, under music director Emmanuel Villaume, and later reprises the same role in her first performances with the Santa Fe Opera, led by Iván López-Reynoso. Additionally, she makes her debut in the title role of Massenet’s Manon for Vancouver’s Opera West Society.
On the concert stage, Emily Pogorelc appears alongside Rolando Villazón and the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra at Klassikfestival in Bucharest. The soprano then makes her house debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, joining The Mozartists under Ian Page’s baton for a program commemorating the 250th anniversary of composer Niccolò Jommelli’s death. In Ljubljana, she collaborates with the String Quartet of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Slovenian cellist Jaka Stadler. The soprano continues her season at the Salzburg Easter Festival, performing in Mendelssohn’s Elias conducted by Maxim Emelyanychev. Pogorelc concludes the concert season at the Salzburg DomQuartier’s Rittersaal, taking on the role of Aminta in Mozart’s Il re pastore with Rolando Villazón and Serena Sáenz.
Emily Pogorelc’s 2023/24 season was highlighted by seven major debuts. She saw her first performances at the Metropolitan Opera as Lisette in Puccini’s La rondine, which were received to unanimous acclaim. With the Royal Danish Opera, she made her house and role debut singing Servilia in La clemenza di Tito at the Royal Danish Opera Copenhagen, a role which also served as the vehicle for her debut with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The soprano returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper, debuting as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor and Ilia in Idomeneo, while also reprising her acclaimed portrayals of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Adina in L’elisir d’amore. With the Semperoper Dresden, she returned as Amina in revival of Rolando Villazón’s production of La sonnambula, a role which she debuted to critical acclaim the season prior. She later celebrated another role debut, Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
On the concert stage, Emily Pogorelc joined tenor Rolando Villazón for an open-air gala in Bratislava. She collaborated with the Camerata Salzburg presenting various Mozart arias, and later returned to Salzburg to perform Mozart’s Requiem with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado. Additionally in Salzburg, she made her Salzburg Festival debut in the highly regarded Mozart Matinees under the baton of conductor Roberto González-Monjas. She graced the stage of the Luxembourg Philharmonie, again performing alongside Rolando Villazón with Gustavo Gimeno conducting a program featuring works by Verdi, Donizetti, and Bizet.
In the 2022/23 season, Emily Pogorelc made six role debuts, most notably a celebrated portrayal of Amina in La sonnambula at Semperoper Dresden and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She made her recital debut at the Kennedy Center in DC and appeared in concert at the Mozartwoche festival in Salzburg. As an ensemble member of Bayerische Staatsoper, she made debuts as Soeur Constance in Dialogues des Carmelites and Xenia in Boris Gudonov, and appeared as Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel and the Vierte Magd in Elektra under the baton of Maestro Vladimir Jurowski. Pogorelc’s schedule also included performances as Der Hirt in Tannhäuser at the Salzburg Osterfestspiele, Norma in Marina Abramovic’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at the Royal Theatre Carré in Amsterdam, and a Blumenmädchen in Parsifal with Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic. She also became part of Deutsche Grammophon’s new series “Rising Stars” on STAGE+, showcasing the best young talents in classical music.
Among other roles of Emily Pogorelc’ operatic repertoire are Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Sofia in Il signor Bruschino. She debuted at the Glyndebourne Festival 2022 as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. During her time as a member of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s prestigious Ryan Opera Center, she performed as Masha in Queen of Spades, Noémie in Cendrillon, and the Trainbearer in Elektra. In 2018, while still an undergraduate at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, she debuted at the Washington National Opera as Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide. At the Glimmerglass Festival, she starred as Romilda in Handel’s Xerxes, Johanna Barker in Sweeney Todd, and Berenice in Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro.
Off the operatic stage, Emily Pogorelc performed Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Bertrand de Billy, Mozart arias in a concert with Rolando Villazón and the Luxembourg Philharmonie and a program of arias written and heard by Mozart in 1771 with Classical Opera in London. She performed with Madison Symphony Orchestra as Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the New Jersey Symphony, soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem with the Fox Valley Orchestra, and the soprano soloist in Richard Hynson’s Evensong with the Bel Canto Chorus of Milwaukee. She was also a soloist for Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot, which traveled to Carnegie Hall.
Emily Pogorelc is passionate about performing new works. In 2016, she made her debut with Opera Philadelphia in Daniel Schnyder’s Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, singing Chan Parker in the opera’s New York premiere. It was the first opera to be performed at the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem and was broadcast on New York City’s classical music station, 105.9FM WQXR (distributed nationally by the WFMT Radio Network). She also participated in Opera Philadelphia’s Double Exposure project, portraying the title role in David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf, and performed in a masterclass with Dawn Upshaw as part of Opera Philadelphia’s Composer-in-Residence program, singing an aria from Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrick’s opera, Breaking the Waves.
At the inaugural Glyndebourne Opera Cup, Emily Pogorelc was the youngest finalist and the recipient of The Ginette Theano Prize for Most Promising Talent. She was a semi-finalist in the 2019 Queen Sonja International Music Competition, receiving the honor of performing for Queen Sonja of Norway. She was also awarded the Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award from the Musicians Club of Women and the 2020 Luminarts Classical Voice Fellowship. Previously, she received first prize in The Carolyn Bailey and Dominick Argento Vocal Competition, first place in the Hal Leonard Art Song Competition, a grant from the Gerda Lissner/Liederkranz Foundation’s Lieder/Art Song competition, and an Emerging Artist Award from Opera Index. She took second place in the Upper-Midwest Region of the 2017 Metropolitan National Opera Council Auditions. In October 2021, she received the third prize for best female singer of the Operalia Competition 2021 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
Emily Pogorelc is a proud native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
© CSAM, August 2024
