Inside the Industry
In this column, we explore singers to watch, celebrate new albums, note new resources for singers, and other industry changes.
Industry News
This month we share a company’s reimagined take on operatic leadership and a new concert organization presenting recitals in nonconventional spaces.
Opera Baltimore recently announced the addition of international soprano, Mary Elizabeth Williams, as their inaugural Imasogie Executive Apprentice. Acclaimed for the roles of Tosca, Aïda, and Isolde, this Philadelphia native will spend the 2025–2026 season working side-by-side with President and General Director Julia Cooke, continuing the company’s mission of “artist-centered leadership and workforce development.” The Executive apprenticeship is funded by Mr. Osagie Imasogie, a long-time supporter of Opera Baltimore and Williams’ career. Williams will bring her artistic perspective to all aspects of Opera Baltimore with a highlight being that she will make her directorial debut with their production of Lucrezia Borgia.
A new concert organization, Counterpoint Concerts, based in Washington D.C. aims to “blend innovation, tradition, and community.” Founded by concert pianist Natalia Kazaryan, Counterpoint is dedicated to presenting traditional classical music in fresh ways, unearthing classical music gems, and deepening the artist-audience bond through innovative programming. This season, their second, Counterpoint presents two vocal programs: “Mostly Mahler,” featuring baritone Rob McGinness, and “French Affair,” featuring mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams.
Five Singers to Watch
Martin Bakari, praised for his “mellifluous, liquid tenor” and for being “vocally charismatic,” enjoys a varied career performing in opera and oratorio as well as teaching. Currently a faculty member of the Mannes School of Music at the New School of Performing Arts, he’s recently been seen on the stages of Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, and the Seiji Ozawa Music Festival. Highlights of last season include Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Indianapolis Opera, Messiah with the Boise Philharmonic, and Greene Evans in the premiere of Tazewell Thompson’s Jubilee at Seattle Opera. Engagements for the 2025–2026 season include Paul Moravec’s The Shining at Nashville Opera, Daphne in concert with Seattle Opera, Dayton Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess, and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra.
Acclaimed for her “luscious tone” and her ability to be “seductive and impossible to ignore,” mezzo-soprano Stephanie Doche is establishing herself as an impressive artist on the rise. Recent triumphs include Angelina in La Cenerentola at Fort Worth Opera, the title role in Carmen at Opera Memphis, Sesto in Washington Concert Opera’s La Clemenza di Tito, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Indianapolis Opera, and Romeo in Teatro Nuovo’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi. In 2026, the mezzo sings Rosina in a return to San Diego Opera and joins the Billings Symphony as mezzo soloist in Verdi’s Requiem.
“Glorious,” “commanding,” and “fearless” are just a few of the superlatives used to describe soprano Alexandra Loutsion. She spent the summer making her debut with Teatro Nuovo as Lady Macbeth in their production of the original 1847 version of Macbeth. The soprano was recently seen as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Virginia Opera, Gerhilde—while covering Sieglinde—in Die Walküre with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and as soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, as well the title role in Aïda at the Met and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Next season she returns to Lyric Opera covering the title role in Cherubini’s Medea and sings Gertrud in Houston Grand Opera’s Hansel and Gretel.
Baritone Efraín Solís spent the summer as Schaunard in La bohème at Santa Fe Opera after appearing as Dandini in La Cenerentola with Fort Worth Opera and Schaunard at Dallas Opera. Known for his “honey-hued baritone,” he recently made his European debut as Dandini at the Staatsoper Hamburg. Up next, he makes his Met Opera debut as Salvador Dalí in Mason Bates’ The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, joins the Phoenix Symphony as soloist in Händel’s Messiah, sings the title role in Don Giovanni with Annapolis Opera, and will perform Sharpless in North Carolina Opera’s Madama Butterfly in 2026.
A Grand Finals Winner of the Met Laffont Competition in 2022, soprano Alexandra Razskazoff employs her “full, dark soprano with rich soaring tone” in a variety of standard operatic repertoire. She spent the summer in a return engagement at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile, as Violetta in La traviata having previously appeared as Mimì and Micaëla. Other notable engagements include Nedda in Pagliacci at Vero Beach Opera, Musetta in La bohème at Minnesota Opera, and Suzel in L’amico Fritz with Teatro Grattacielo. This fall she joins the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago covering the role of Nedda in Pagliacci and returns to Atlanta Opera as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung.
New and Noteworthy
A pair of recordings that celebrate strength and resiliency and a documentary that pulls away the curtain on the Young Artist process are this month’s highlights.
Baritone Sidney Outlaw’s latest offering to the classical music space is Black Pierrot featuring “Songs of Separation” by William Grant Still and “26 Ways of Looking at a Black Man” by B.E. Boykin. Expertly partnered by pianist Warren Jones, Outlaw beautifully captures Grant Still’s fusion of Western classical music with elements of jazz and blues through precise diction, warmth of tone, and dramatic intensity. Jones is such a skilled pianist that he is able to serve as grounded foundation for Outlaw’s singing while at the same time finding moments to shine.
In “26 Ways,” Outlaw maintains his customary lovely singing as he wraps his voice around Boykin’s sinewy, often high-lying vocal lines and Raymond R. Patterson’s rich, poignant text.
The pairing of these two song cycles shows the direct effect Grant Still, called the “Dean of Afro-American Composers,” still holds on African American composers writing art song. Outlaw has championed the works of African American composers in previous recordings and continues to keep us informed of the depth of material available. Black Pierrot is available on Lexicon Classics.
Every aspiring singer needs to watch Victory Hall Opera’s recently released documentary, YAPs. Following five young singers in the initial stages of their careers (tenor Matteo Adams, countertenor Chuanyun Liu, soprano Marissa Howard, mezzo Ria Ipa, and soprano Amandalynne Perzyk) as they navigate being Young Artists in the opera world, YAPs is a frank examination of the struggles, realities, and triumphs early career artists experience throughout the course of a year. Each young singer is refreshingly honest and vulnerable as they seek to find their place in an increasingly competitive field. Also of note is the advice of industry leaders who express how demanding the career can be, especially for those just entering the field.
YAPs offers an insightful peek behind the curtain at what it takes to pursue a career as an opera singer and highlights that talent merely scratches the surface. Resiliency, support, self-awareness, discipline, and courage are key factors presented in YAPs.
Directed by Miriam Gordon-Stewart and executive produced by Brenda Patterson, YAPs should be required viewing for young singers as well as those preparing artists for the opera world. The company is even planning to offer affordable licensing fees to schools, programs, and companies wanting to host their own screenings. For more information on where you can view it, contact Victory Hall Opera at contact@victoryhallopera.org
Le Tre Soprano: The Three Ladies of Ferrara
Le Tre Soprano is a wonderful, off-the-beaten-path offering from Apollo’s Fire and its GRAMMY® founder and director, Jeannette Sorrell. Paying homage to the Tre Donna di Ferrara (the three ladies of Ferrara), three Amandas—sopranos Forsythe and Powell and mezzo Crider—blend their lovely voices as they celebrate these revolutionary women who found fame throughout Italy and Germany. Their story is given even greater levity as one of the women, married to a Count who did not believe women should achieve professional success, killed her, and went unpunished.
The distinctive timbre of each singer is never sacrificed in service of this music from the 1500s, but it always adheres to traditional tonal preferences of this style of music. Enhancing this album is the sense of ensemble, dynamic variety, and innate use of text painting to create mood.
“Passacaglia della Vita,” attributed to Stefano Landi and translated as “Dance of Life,” is a toe-tapper that matches sharp harmonies, a pulsing rhythm and a wonderful dance between the voices and the instrumentalists. Another gem is “Theatrum Musicium: No 7, O Felix Jucunditas,” which shows the singers’ acute skill at rhythmic vocal attack, melisma, and vocal coloring. Special mention must be made to the Apollo’s Fire ensemble, which brings vibrancy, innate accuracy, and a sense of joy that shines through each number. Le Tre Soprano is available on AVIE Records.
