At top of opera, Yoncheva worries about classical music

By RONALD BLUM
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sonya Yoncheva worries about classical music. The 41-year-old soprano at the top of her profession told The Associated Press that her own children don’t really associate with classical music artists. In the first close-to-normal season since the pandemic’s onset, Yoncheva sings a revival of Bellini’s “Norma” at the Met starting Feb. 28, then has role debuts as Maddalena di Coigny in Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” at Milan’s Teatro all Scala and Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at the Vienna State Opera. In a time of dwindling classical sales and releases, she is launching her own record label in a bid to shape projects and build an audience.