Monica Yunus, soprano
Soprano Monica Yunus has been called “especially winning” by The New York Times, with a “voice that sparkles like the best of diamonds” (Omaha World Herald). A principal artist at The Metropolitan Opera for over a decade, Ms. Yunus has been featured in multiple Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts, including The Magic Flute, Le Comte Ory, and La Rondine. Favorite roles include Pamina in The Magic Flute, Gilda in Rigoletto, Countess and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Norina in Don Pasquale, and Adina in L’Elisir D’Amore.
Ms. Yunus’ concert and recital performances have taken her all over the world, from her native Bangladesh to Spain, Guatemala, and Lebanon – and have featured her alongside legendary singers such as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, A multi-year ambassador for The Zouk Mikael International Festival in Lebanon, she thrilled audiences in varied concerts over the years. Highlights include collaborations with bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and tenor Joseph Calleja as well as Jon Batiste.
Ms. Yunus’ discography includes The Tender Land Suite on KOCH International Classics, and An Aids Quilt Songbook: Sing for Hope, a star-studded collaboration with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, mezzo sopranos Joyce DiDonato and Isabel Leonard, and actor-narrator Sharon Stone. Ms. Yunus is credited as a producer on the album Legion of Peace: Songs Inspired by Peace Laureates.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Ms. Yunus is the Co-Founder of Sing for Hope, a leading “arts peace corps” that creates programs such as the Sing for Hope Pianos in public spaces from the Bronx to Beirut that promote the mission of art for all. She has presented and performed at The United Nations, the US Capitol, Aspen Ideas Festival, Oxford University, and the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship. She has been honored as a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. An Artist Lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Yunus is a frequent speaker on arts advocacy and the burgeoning field of arts in health. Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh and raised in New Jersey, Ms. Yunus is the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus.