Name : Monica Yunus
Father’s Name & Origin : Dr.Muhammad Yunus, Chittagong, Bangladesh
Citizenship : USA
Monica Yunus is quickly establishing herself as one of America’s most promising young sopranos. In the 2005-2006 season, Ms. Yunus returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and Poussette in Manon. She also debuts with Austin Lyric Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and sings recitals in Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City and with the Los Angeles Da Camera under the auspices of The Marilyn Horne Foundation.
Recent reviewers have called her “especially winning” (New York Times) and “utterly captivating.” (Charleston City Paper) As Zerlina in Don Giovanni, she “provided the broadest spectrum of emotion and tone color" (The Post and Courier) and as Gilda in Rigoletto, she “gave us a performance that was quintessentially, Gilda. Her delivery was sweet, strong, smooth evocative of the moment she was singing and most importantly, flexible and dynamic.” (Opera Online) Of her performance as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, she “showed a voice destined for super-stardom.” (Palm Beach Daily News)
In the 2003-2004 season, she made her critically acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine, and joined the company for productions of Die Frau Ohne Schatten, Le Rossignol, and The Queen of Spades. Following these performances she made her European operatic debut as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, where she also appeared with one day’s notice as Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice.
Highlights of her 2004-2005 season included a return to Palm Beach Opera as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel under the baton of Julius Rudel, Nashville Opera as Adele in Die Fledermaus, her first Gilda in Rigoletto with Granite State Opera, and her debut with Anchorage Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She also returned to Europe for a recital at Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional and sang the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with New York City’s MetroChamber Orchestra.
A 2003 Sullivan Foundation Award winner, Ms. Yunus has already performed with numerous opera companies throughout North America, including Nashville Opera as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Virginia Opera and Palm Beach Opera as Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Glimmerglass Opera as Fleurette in Offenbach’s Bluebeard, while a member of the Young American Artist Program, and Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito and Polly in Die Dreigroshenoper, both with Pittsburgh Opera Center .
Ms. Yunus’ many concert and recital appearances include Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum, Spain’s Manuel De Falla Hall, and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional, with her majesty Queen Sofia in attendance. Her wide-ranging repertoire includes performances of Shostakovich’s Poems by Blok at The Phillips Gallery in Washington D.C., Delage’s Four Hindu Poems in Alice Tully Hall, and Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate in New York’s Saint Anselm’s Church. In 2003-2004, she appeared twice with The New Haven Symphony Orchestra- a Broadway concert conducted by Gerald Steichen and Mozart’s Requiem conducted by artistic director Jung-ho Pak. Additionally, she portrayed Laurie in the world premiere recording of Copland’s The Tender Land Suite on the KOCH International Label conducted by Murry Sidlin.
Ms. Yunus has been a prize winner in numerous competitions, among them The Florida Grand Opera Competition, Palm Beach Opera Competition, the Lee Schaenen Foundation Award, and most recently The Mirjam Helin International Competition in Helsinki, Finland. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Juilliard School. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh to Russian and Bangladeshi parents, Monica Yunus was raised in New Jersey.
