On July 26, 2020, Sonya Yoncheva will star in a Puccini gala concert in Piazza San Martino, the main square of Lucca, singing alongside tenor Marco Ciaponi under the baton of Maestro Francesco Ivan Ciampa leading the Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa.

The program is entirely dedicated to the Lucca-born composer, with Sonya Yoncheva performing “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì”, “Donde lieta uscì” and the duet “O soave fanciulla” from La bohème, “In quelle trine morbide” and “Sola, perduta, abbandonata” from Manon Lescaut, “Se come voi piccina io fossi” from Le Villi, “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca and “Un bel dì vedremo” from Madama Butterfly.

The Bulgarian soprano has conquered critics and audiences all over the world with her portrayals of some of Puccini’s immortal creations. She made her debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera in the legendary Zeffirelli staging in the 2014/2015 season, creating an immediate sensation, later reprising the role to unvarying rave reviews in the most prestigious international opera houses, including the Teatro alla Scala, Paris Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Berlin State Opera.  She also debuted the role of Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, once again to unanimous wide acclaim, in a new production by David McVicar, in the 2017/2018 season, and has since then interpreted it at the Berlin State Opera.

Sonya Yoncheva was set to make her role debut as Manon Lescaut in the spring of 2020 at the Metropolitan Opera, but the production was cancelled due to the covid 19 pandemic. She will however add the the role of Manon to her repertoire at the Bavarian State Opera this coming January. Other upcoming Puccini engagements include Tosca at the Vienna State Opera as well as her a future role debut as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.

[Photo: Javier del Real]