ABOUT THE ARTISTS

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Esther Tonea

Praised for her “dramatic excellence, flexibility, and beauty of her singing” by Classical Voice North America, Romanian American soprano Esther Tonea has appeared in concert and recital across the United States, Canada and Europe. As Diana in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You, Tonea stunned audiences and critics alike with “magnificent singing—an ardent, tonally plush performance.” She has also dazzled as Fiordiligi with her “gleaming tones and impeccable dynamic control” (San Francisco Chronicle). In February 2021 she workshopped Jake Heggie’s newest opera, Intelligence, as Callie Van Lew.

Tonea won the 2022 Grand Finals of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Other competition wins include the New York Lyric Opera National Competition, Holt Memorial Competition, Hennings-Fischer Young Artist Competition, and Concerto Competitions at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and University of Georgia. Tonea is a Presser Scholar and recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

She holds a Master of Music in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and bachelor of music degrees in vocal performance and cello performance from the University of Georgia.

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Andrew King

Pianist Andrew King is a recent graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Warren Jones. During 2020, King studied extensively with Music Director Eun Sun Kim. As an Apprentice Coach at the Merola Opera Program, he helped prepare the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s 2019 opera, If I Were You, under the baton of Nicole Paiement. 2018 included performances of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and continuo for Le Nozze di Figaro with James Conlon, all at Music Academy of the West. King debuted at Carnegie Hall in January 2018 in Marilyn Horne’s The Song Continues, performing in master classes taught by Horne, Graham Johnson, and Renée Fleming. He returned to Carnegie Hall the following year for SongStudio, under the leadership of Renée Fleming. King has performed as piano soloist with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra and the LeMoyne College String Ensemble. He has previously served as a staff coach at the Manhattan School of Music and New York University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

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