ESTHER TONEA
Esther Tonea Soprano
Tonea’s concluding account of the aria “Col sorriso d’innocenza” from Bellini’s rarely heard opera “Il Pirata” was a performance of powerful, gleaming tone, effortless precision and expressive immediacy, all rendered with the sublime assurance of an established diva.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
DREAM OF THE RED CHAMBER
Flower/Lady in Waiting
San Francisco Opera
HOUSE DEBUT
June 14, 17, 19, 23, 25; July 1, 3 2022
Fall 2022
Festival Napa Valley
TASTE OF ROMANIA: Recital with Gabrielle Beteag and Ronny Michael Greenberg
IOLANTA
Listen to Esther sing Iolanta's arioso from Tchaikovsky's Iolanta. Recorded with pianist Andrew King.
METROPOLITAN OPERA COMPETITION WINNER
From an initial pool of 1,100 applicants, Esther is a 2022 winner of the Metropolitan Opera's Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Click below to read San Francisco Chronicle's feature.
WORLD PREMIERE OF IF I WERE YOU
While in the Merola Opera Program, Esther premiered the role of lead soprano Diana in one of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's newest operas. Click on the link below to read Joshua Kosman's review in the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Voice was something unexpected,” explains
Tonea. “I wanted to pursue cello and
neuroscience—with the intention of going
the neuroscience route—but I found myself
so in love with music that I couldn’t live without it.”