Monica Yunus
Encyclopedia
Monica Yunus is a Bangladeshi-Russian-American operatic soprano
who has performed with many of the world's finest opera
companies and music ensembles. Reviewers from US dailies, The New York Times
, the Charleston City Paper
and the Palm Beach Daily News
have described her voice as -- "especially winning", "utterly captivating" and "a voice destined for super-stardom" respectively. Her voice's performance range lies from a low A (A4) to a high F (F6).
, Bangladesh
to Nobel Peace Prize
recipient Muhammad Yunus and his then wife, Vera Forostenko. Yunus has one younger half-sister, Dina Yunus. Yunus' parents met in 1967 while attending Vanderbilt University
. They were married in 1970. Yunus' parents' marriage ended within months of her birth, and Forostenko returned with Monica to the United States, claiming that Bangladesh was not a good place to raise a baby. Forostenko is the daughter of Russian immigrants to Trenton, New Jersey
, United States and she returned with Monica to live with them.
Yunus grew up in the home of her Russian grandparents in New Jersey where she learned to speak and write Russian and other Slavic languages
as well as English. Yunus also speaks and writes fluently in Italian, Spanish, German, and French. Yunus' grandmother was highly influential in encouraging her interest in singing. At a very early age, Yunus' grandmother began taking her to sing in the choir at their Russian Orthodox Church
, a choir Yunus would sing with throughout her entire childhood. It was while singing in this church choir that Yunus first fell in love with classical music.
At the age of eleven, Yunus' mother helped her begin studying voice formally through lessons. Shortly thereafter, Yunus became a member of the Metropolitan Opera
's Children's Chorus for a number of years. At 13, Monica was accepted to the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center
in Massachusetts, and this is where she first became interested in becoming a professional opera singer. Beginning at the age of 15, Yunus spent five summers at the Aspen Music Festival honing her craft with some of the world's best music teachers. While at Aspen, Yunus recorded and performed the role of Laurie in the world premiere of Copland
's The Tender Land Suite, in which she can be heard on the KOCH International label.
In 1997, after attending the prestigious Lawrenceville School
, Yunus entered the Juilliard School
from which she graduated four years later with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance. During this time Yunus sang in several professional operas (see below) and was a member of Berkshire Opera's Young Artist Program. She also studied at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute in the summer of 2000. Yunus remained at Juilliard for graduate studies and earned a Masters degree in Vocal Performance in 2002. While in graduate school at Juilliard, Yunus was a member of Pittsburgh Opera
's Young Artist Program and she performed the role of Mrs. Hayes in Susannah
at the Juilliard Opera Center.
in the role of Countess Olga in Umberto Giordano
's Fedora after winning the Palm Beach Opera Competition that same year. Yunus also took first place at the Florida Grand Opera
Competition and was awarded the Bori Grant For Study Abroad that year.
In 2000, Yunus returned to Palm Beach Opera to perform the role of Oscar in Un ballo in maschera
opposite noted singers Richard Leech
and Aprile Millo
. She also was a finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition.
In 2001, Yunus sang the role of Nanetta in Falstaff
in her debut with Amato Opera
.
In the 2002-2003 season, Yunus made her debut with Nashville Opera as Gretel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, her debut with Virginia Opera
as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera
, and performed the role of Walter in La Wally
at Alice Tully Hall
with Teatro Grattacielo
. She also performed the roles of Servilia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
and Polly in Die Dreigroschenoper with Pittsburgh Opera
as part of her internship there. Yunus was also awarded a career grant from the Lee Schaenen Foundation in 2002.
In the 2003-2004 season, Yunus made her debut with Glimmerglass Opera
as Fleurette in Offenbach
's Bluebeard. This was followed by her Metropolitan Opera debut as Barbarina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine
. Yunus is the only singer born in Bangladesh to have sung at the Metropolitan Opera. Yunus also sung in the Met's productions of Die Frau ohne Schatten
, Le Rossignol, and The Queen of Spades
that season in minor roles. Following these performances she made her European operatic debut as Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin
, where she also appeared as a last minute replacement in the role of Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice
. Yunus also won the Willam Matheus Sullivan Foundation Singer Award in 2003.
In the 2004-2005 season, Yunus returned to Palm Beach Opera
for their production of Hänsel und Gretel as Gretel. She also made her debuts at Anchorage Opera
and the Spoleto Festival (USA) as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni
. Yunus also made her debut with Granite State Opera as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
and returned to Nashville Opera to perform the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus
. Yunus won the Mirjam Helin Competition in 2004.
In the 2005-2006 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera to reprise the role of Barbarina and also to portray the role of Poussette in Manon
. She also made her debuts with Port Opera and Austin Lyric Opera
, both in the role of Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
During the 2006-2007 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Papagena in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. She also performed the title role in Zemire et Amore with Arizona Opera
and Lucia in the North American premiere of Riccardo Zandonai
's La farsa amorosa
with Teatro Grattacielo
at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. She also performed at the Spoleto Festival (USA) as Argentine in the American Premiere of Gluck's L'ile de Merlin and for a concert performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with New York City's MetroChamber Orchestra. Yunus also appeared in a recital with the Los Angeles Da Camera at Carnegie Hall
that was hosted by the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Other recitals that season included performances in the Berkshires, Little Rock, and at the Russian Consulate Gala concert.
On Dec. 11, 2006, Yunus performed at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert honoring her father. The event was hosted by Sharon Stone
and Anjelica Huston
and featured performances by Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Lionel Richie
, John Legend
, Rihanna
, Paulina Rubio
, Wynonna, Simply Red
, Hakim
, Renée Fleming
, and Morten Abel
as well as Yunus.
In the 2007-2008 season Yunus appeared as Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale
with Syracuse Opera, reprised the role of Papagena at the Metropolitan Opera, sang at the Al Bustan International Festival of Music and Arts in Beirut
, Lebanon
, and gave a recital in Sarasota, Florida
. Yunus also performed in concert with Plácido Domingo
and Julia Migenes
at the Cairo Opera House
.
In the 2008-2009 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera for several performances including singing at the company's 125th Anniversary Gala and appearing as Poussette in Manon, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Yvette in La Rondine
. In addition, she appeared in concert at the Tilles Center in New York and at the Francisco Marroquín University in Guatemala City
. In the 2009-2010 season she is scheduled to appear at the Met as the Novice in Suor Angelica
and Papagena in The Magic Flute
. She will also appear with Omaha Opera as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro
and Montana Lyric Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto
.
Yunus' other concert and recital appearances include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall
, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and Steinway Hall
, in New York, at the Manuel de Falla Hall in Granada, Spain, and at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional with Her Majesty Queen Sofia in attendance. She has also performed in recital at Steinway Hall. Chamber works performed include Delage's Four Hindu Poems in concert in Alice Tully Hall, and Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate at St. Anselm's Church in New York.
Not satisfied purely with her artistic pursuits, Yunus was inspired by the summer 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina
to found Sing for Hope
http://www.singforhope.org/, an organization of artists who perform in concerts that benefit humanitarian causes.
Monica resides currently in New York City.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who has performed with many of the world's finest opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
companies and music ensembles. Reviewers from US dailies, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the Charleston City Paper
Charleston City Paper
The Charleston City Paper is an alternative weekly published every Wednesday in Charleston, South Carolina. It mostly covers local places, events, and happenings in the Charleston area which would be of interest to its target audience of college students and young professionals.The paper also...
and the Palm Beach Daily News
Palm Beach Daily News Building
The Palm Beach Daily News Building is a historic site in Palm Beach, Florida. It is located at 204 Brazilian Avenue. On December 24, 1985, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.-References and external links:* at * ** **...
have described her voice as -- "especially winning", "utterly captivating" and "a voice destined for super-stardom" respectively. Her voice's performance range lies from a low A (A4) to a high F (F6).
Early life and education
Monica Yunus was born in 1979 in ChittagongChittagong
Chittagong ) is a city in southeastern Bangladesh and the capital of an eponymous district and division. Built on the banks of the Karnaphuli River, the city is home to Bangladesh's busiest seaport and has a population of over 4.5 million, making it the second largest city in the country.A trading...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
to Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
recipient Muhammad Yunus and his then wife, Vera Forostenko. Yunus has one younger half-sister, Dina Yunus. Yunus' parents met in 1967 while attending Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
. They were married in 1970. Yunus' parents' marriage ended within months of her birth, and Forostenko returned with Monica to the United States, claiming that Bangladesh was not a good place to raise a baby. Forostenko is the daughter of Russian immigrants to Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, United States and she returned with Monica to live with them.
Yunus grew up in the home of her Russian grandparents in New Jersey where she learned to speak and write Russian and other Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
as well as English. Yunus also speaks and writes fluently in Italian, Spanish, German, and French. Yunus' grandmother was highly influential in encouraging her interest in singing. At a very early age, Yunus' grandmother began taking her to sing in the choir at their Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, a choir Yunus would sing with throughout her entire childhood. It was while singing in this church choir that Yunus first fell in love with classical music.
At the age of eleven, Yunus' mother helped her begin studying voice formally through lessons. Shortly thereafter, Yunus became a member of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
's Children's Chorus for a number of years. At 13, Monica was accepted to the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center
Tanglewood Music Center
The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops designed to provide an intense training and networking experience...
in Massachusetts, and this is where she first became interested in becoming a professional opera singer. Beginning at the age of 15, Yunus spent five summers at the Aspen Music Festival honing her craft with some of the world's best music teachers. While at Aspen, Yunus recorded and performed the role of Laurie in the world premiere of Copland
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
's The Tender Land Suite, in which she can be heard on the KOCH International label.
In 1997, after attending the prestigious Lawrenceville School
Lawrenceville School
The Lawrenceville School is a coeducational, independent preparatory boarding school for grades 9–12 located on in the historic community of Lawrenceville, in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, U.S., five miles southwest of Princeton....
, Yunus entered the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
from which she graduated four years later with a Bachelors in Vocal Performance. During this time Yunus sang in several professional operas (see below) and was a member of Berkshire Opera's Young Artist Program. She also studied at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre Institute in the summer of 2000. Yunus remained at Juilliard for graduate studies and earned a Masters degree in Vocal Performance in 2002. While in graduate school at Juilliard, Yunus was a member of Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
's Young Artist Program and she performed the role of Mrs. Hayes in Susannah
Susannah
Susannah is an opera in two acts by American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susannah and the Elders, though the latter story has a more positive ending...
at the Juilliard Opera Center.
Career
In 1999, Yunus made her professional opera debut at an unusually young age with Palm Beach OperaPalm Beach Opera
Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida resident at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its history, the company has presented a season of fully staged operas ranging from a single production...
in the role of Countess Olga in Umberto Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...
's Fedora after winning the Palm Beach Opera Competition that same year. Yunus also took first place at the Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera
Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...
Competition and was awarded the Bori Grant For Study Abroad that year.
In 2000, Yunus returned to Palm Beach Opera to perform the role of Oscar in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
opposite noted singers Richard Leech
Richard Leech
Richard Leech , born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, son of Isabella Frances and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin...
and Aprile Millo
Aprile Millo
Aprile Millo is an American operatic soprano of Italian and Irish ancestry who is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Giuseppe Verdi. Possessing a spinto voice of power, warmth and temperament, Millo became one of the most celebrated opera singers of the late twentieth...
. She also was a finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition.
In 2001, Yunus sang the role of Nanetta in Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
in her debut with Amato Opera
Amato Opera
The Amato Opera was an opera company located in the East Village neighborhood of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The company was produced by the husband and wife team of Anthony and Sally Amato and presented opera on a small scale with a reduced orchestra at low prices...
.
In the 2002-2003 season, Yunus made her debut with Nashville Opera as Gretel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, her debut with Virginia Opera
Virginia Opera
Virginia Opera is an opera company based in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Organized in 1974 by a group of Norfolk, Virginia community volunteers, Virginia Opera presented its first productions in 1975 and in the intervening four decades has become known and respected nationwide for the...
as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
, and performed the role of Walter in La Wally
La Wally
La Wally is a four-act opera by Alfredo Catalani, composed on a libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed at La Scala, Milan on 20 January 1892....
at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
with Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù and...
. She also performed the roles of Servilia in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito
La clemenza di Tito , K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Metastasio...
and Polly in Die Dreigroschenoper with Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera
Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...
as part of her internship there. Yunus was also awarded a career grant from the Lee Schaenen Foundation in 2002.
In the 2003-2004 season, Yunus made her debut with Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Opera
Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...
as Fleurette in Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Bluebeard. This was followed by her Metropolitan Opera debut as Barbarina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro conducted by James Levine
James Levine
James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is currently the music director of the Metropolitan Opera and former music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Levine's first performance conducting the Metropolitan Opera was on June 5, 1971, and as of May 2011 he has...
. Yunus is the only singer born in Bangladesh to have sung at the Metropolitan Opera. Yunus also sung in the Met's productions of Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
, Le Rossignol, and The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
that season in minor roles. Following these performances she made her European operatic debut as Oscar in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin
Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin
The Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin is the principal theatre of Schwerin in Germany. Its main theatre seats 650 people and is used for the performance of plays, opera, musical theatre and ballet. Designed by Georg Daniel, it was built between 1883 and 1886 after the previous theatre had...
, where she also appeared as a last minute replacement in the role of Amor in Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
. Yunus also won the Willam Matheus Sullivan Foundation Singer Award in 2003.
In the 2004-2005 season, Yunus returned to Palm Beach Opera
Palm Beach Opera
Palm Beach Opera, a professional opera company in West Palm Beach, Florida resident at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, was founded in 1961 as "Civic Opera of the Palm Beaches." Over its history, the company has presented a season of fully staged operas ranging from a single production...
for their production of Hänsel und Gretel as Gretel. She also made her debuts at Anchorage Opera
Anchorage Opera
' is a professional opera company located in Anchorage, Alaska and is a member of OPERA America.-About AO: is the largest producer of the performing arts in Alaska and one of America’s leading regional opera companies...
and the Spoleto Festival (USA) as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
. Yunus also made her debut with Granite State Opera as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
and returned to Nashville Opera to perform the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
. Yunus won the Mirjam Helin Competition in 2004.
In the 2005-2006 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera to reprise the role of Barbarina and also to portray the role of Poussette in Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
. She also made her debuts with Port Opera and Austin Lyric Opera
Austin Lyric Opera
Austin Lyric Opera, founded in 1986, is an internationally known opera company based in Austin, Texas.It also operates the Armstrong Community Music School....
, both in the role of Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni.
During the 2006-2007 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Papagena in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. She also performed the title role in Zemire et Amore with Arizona Opera
Arizona Opera
Arizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.Arizona Opera was established in 1971 as the Tucson Opera Company, under founding general director James P. Sullivan, and presented its first production, of Rossini's The Barber of Seville, in 1972. By 1976 the...
and Lucia in the North American premiere of Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai
Riccardo Zandonai was an Italian composer.-Biography:Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria–Hungary....
's La farsa amorosa
La farsa amorosa
La farsa amorosa is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Riccardo Zandonai.The opera is on a comic subject, and was an attempt to revitalize the opera buffa tradition which flourished in Italy during the 18th and early 19th centuries....
with Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo
Teatro Grattacielo is a professional opera company based in New York City specializing in concert performances of rarely heard verismo operas. The company's past performances have included the North American premieres of Mascagni's Il piccolo Marat and Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù and...
at Alice Tully Hall in New York City. She also performed at the Spoleto Festival (USA) as Argentine in the American Premiere of Gluck's L'ile de Merlin and for a concert performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with New York City's MetroChamber Orchestra. Yunus also appeared in a recital with the Los Angeles Da Camera at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
that was hosted by the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Other recitals that season included performances in the Berkshires, Little Rock, and at the Russian Consulate Gala concert.
On Dec. 11, 2006, Yunus performed at the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert honoring her father. The event was hosted by Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
and Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in...
and featured performances by Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, John Legend
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Paulina Rubio
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Susana Rubio Rue is a Mexican singer and actress. Rubio achieved international stardom with her fifth studio album, Paulina...
, Wynonna, Simply Red
Simply Red
Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...
, Hakim
Hakim (Egyptian singer)
Hakim is an Egyptian folk-singer. In addition to the number of albums he has put out, on December 11, 2006 he was the first person from an Arab country to perform at a Nobel Peace Prize event.-Biography:...
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, and Morten Abel
Morten Abel
Morten Abel Knutsen, , better known by his stage name Morten Abel is a Norwegian pop artist, and one of Norway's best-selling domestic artists.-Career:...
as well as Yunus.
In the 2007-2008 season Yunus appeared as Norina in Donizetti's Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
with Syracuse Opera, reprised the role of Papagena at the Metropolitan Opera, sang at the Al Bustan International Festival of Music and Arts in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, and gave a recital in Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the southwestern coast of the U.S. state of Florida. It is south of the Tampa Bay Area and north of Fort Myers...
. Yunus also performed in concert with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and Julia Migenes
Julia Migenes
Julia Migenes is an American mezzo-soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York to a family of Greek and Irish-Puerto Rican descent...
at the Cairo Opera House
Cairo Opera House
The Cairo Opera House , part of Cairo's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the Zamalek district west of and near downtown...
.
In the 2008-2009 season, Yunus returned to the Metropolitan Opera for several performances including singing at the company's 125th Anniversary Gala and appearing as Poussette in Manon, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Yvette in La Rondine
La rondine
La rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert...
. In addition, she appeared in concert at the Tilles Center in New York and at the Francisco Marroquín University in Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
. In the 2009-2010 season she is scheduled to appear at the Met as the Novice in Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
and Papagena in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
. She will also appear with Omaha Opera as Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and Montana Lyric Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
.
Yunus' other concert and recital appearances include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
, in New York, at the Manuel de Falla Hall in Granada, Spain, and at Madrid's Auditorio Nacional with Her Majesty Queen Sofia in attendance. She has also performed in recital at Steinway Hall. Chamber works performed include Delage's Four Hindu Poems in concert in Alice Tully Hall, and Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate at St. Anselm's Church in New York.
Personal life
In 2004, Yunus reconnected with her father Muhammed Yunus, whom she had not seen since her early childhood. Yunus and her father took a trip together to Bangladesh in 2005, the first time Yunus had been in the country since she was four months old. Monica Yunus is married to another opera singer, Tenor Brandon McReynolds, whom she met at Juilliard.Not satisfied purely with her artistic pursuits, Yunus was inspired by the summer 2005 devastation of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
to found Sing for Hope
Sing For Hope
Sing for Hope is a charitable organization founded by opera singers Monica Yunus and Camille Zamora. The two New York City based vocalists and alumnae of the Juilliard School established Sing for Hope as a resource for New York artists who want to use their art to benefit the community through...
http://www.singforhope.org/, an organization of artists who perform in concerts that benefit humanitarian causes.
Monica resides currently in New York City.