Emily Pogorelc

Biography

American soprano Emily Pogorelc has quickly become one of the most exciting voices of her generation, praised for her radiant lyric coloratura, crystalline tone, and captivating stage presence. Since her acclaimed 2024 Metropolitan Opera debut, where OperaWire noted she "lit up the stage every time," she has established herself as a rising star on the world's great stages.

Emily Pogorelc’s stellar 2025/26 season began 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 made 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 new staging of Die Zauberflöte. In a return to the Bayerische Staatsoper, Pogorelc saw 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 returned to Dresden’s Semperoper for performances as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and concluded her opera season with a debut at the Santander Festival, reprising the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte.

On the concert stage, Pogorelc twice collaborated 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 saw her first performances as soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Marie Jacquot leading Royal Danish Orchestra, and made her role and company debut with Washington Concert Opera as Leïla in a concert performance of Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles.

The 2024/25 season marked three house debuts and two role debuts, showcasing her versatility and growing international presence. She sang her first Violetta (La traviata) at Detroit Opera, later reprised at Semperoper Dresden; was reengaged at the Metropolitan Opera as Musetta (La bohème) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte); and made her Dallas Opera debut as Musetta. Concert appearances included her Salzburg Easter Festival debut in Mendelssohn’s Elias with Maxim Emelyanychev, her Rotterdam Philharmonic debut, and performances in Bucharest and in Ljubljana with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Quartet.

In 2023/24, Pogorelc made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Lisette in Puccini’s La rondine, also broadcast worldwide in Live in HD. She expanded her repertoire with role debuts as Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Ilia (Idomeneo), and Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). She also returned to Semperoper Dresden as Amina in Rolando Villazón’s production of La sonnambula directed by Rolando Villazón — a role she had debuted there the previous season to great acclaim. Another milestone came when she jumped in on short notice for her Salzburg Festival debut in the Mozart Matinee, a performance recorded for Arte. She also sang Mozart’s Requiem with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, appeared with Camerata Salzburg, and gave performances at the Luxembourg Philharmonie.

Highlights of previous seasons include her recital debut at the Kennedy Center, her acclaimed Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) in her hometown of Milwaukee, and several important debuts during her ensemble tenure at the Bayerische Staatsoper, where she sang roles such as Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Ilia (Idomeneo), and Adina (L’elisir d’amore) Sofia (Il signor Bruschino) and Soeur Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites).

Beyond the classics, Pogorelc is a passionate champion of new music. With Opera Philadelphia, she sang in works including Daniel Schnyder’s Charlie Parker’s Yardbird (at Apollo Theatre in NYC) and David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf. She also recorded Summer Night, Riverside by fellow Curtis alumna Andrew Hsu as a single for Deutsche Grammophon.

A prize winner in the 2021 Operalia Competition at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, she was also the youngest finalist and the recipient of The Ginette Theano Prize for Most Promising Talent at the inaugural Glyndebourne Opera Cup. She was a previous recipient of the Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award from the Musicians Club of Women and the 2020 Luminarts Classical Voice Fellowship.

Ms Pogorelc is a former member of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago and a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music. She has participated in residencies at Aix-en-Provence Festival (Mozart Académie) and the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape Maltings, in conjunction with the Aldeburgh Festival (Singing Britten Residency).

Ms. Pogorelc is a proud native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.


Photo Credit: Joe Mazza