CINCINNATI (October 6, 2026)—Cincinnati Opera is thrilled to announce the artists who will headline Viva Verdi!, a celebratory concert presented as part of its 2027 Summer Festival on June 25, 2027, at 7:30 p.m. at Cincinnati Music Hall. The internationally renowned artists to be featured include soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, tenor Matthew White, baritone Michael Chioldi, and bass Soloman Howard.
The cast includes some of the most sought-after voices in classical music who perform regularly with prestigious opera companies and orchestras throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. They will be joined by the Cincinnati Opera Chorus, under the leadership of Chorus Master Henri Venanzi, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alex Amsel.
This special concert is made possible by a transformational $6 million gift from The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation, led by trustees Nanci Wilks Lanni and Barbara Wilks, establishing The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation Fund for Leading Artists. This endowed fund will provide Cincinnati Opera with ongoing support for the presentation of singers of the highest quality, beginning in 2027 and continuing with key principal artist engagements in seasons to come. The gift was first announced from the Music Hall stage during Cincinnati Opera’s July 2026 performances of Carmen.
“This is the kind of lineup you’d expect to find on the stage of Carnegie Hall or the Paris Opera,” said Evans Mirageas, The Harry T. Wilks Artistic Director. “Each of these artists is a star in their own right, and together they represent the very best of opera today. Harry Wilks loved great singing, and thanks to the family foundation that carries on his legacy, Cincinnati audiences will hear these artists together, right here at Music Hall.”
“An opera company is only as great as the singers on its stage,” said Christopher Milligan, The Harry Fath General Director & CEO. “Cincinnati Opera has long been known for bringing some of the world’s finest voices to Music Hall, and this visionary gift not only secures that tradition but strengthens it for generations to come. Endowed in perpetuity, The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation Fund for Leading Artists will sustain the artistry at the heart of our mission not just for one season, but year after year.”
Harry T. Wilks was a Hamilton, Ohio-based attorney, philanthropist, and art collector. An alumnus of Miami University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law, he went on to found Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park, preserving hundreds of acres in Hamilton to create one of the most remarkable outdoor-art spaces in the country. Wilks also loved opera and served for many years on Cincinnati Opera’s Board of Trustees, eventually endowing the role of artistic director. Since his passing, his philanthropic legacy has continued through The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation, now led by his daughters and Foundation trustees, Nanci Wilks Lanni and Barbara Wilks.
The establishment of The Harry T. Wilks Family Foundation Fund for Leading Artists reflects the Wilks and Lanni families’ vision of supporting outstanding artistry in the Greater Cincinnati region and Harry T. Wilks’s lifelong devotion to the art form. It also represents a significant investment in Cincinnati Opera’s future as a celebrated home for excellent singing.
Said Ms. Lanni, “Our desire is to enrich our cultural community by ensuring that Cincinnati Opera has the ability to bring celebrated world-class vocal talent to the Cincinnati audience.”
About the Artists
Soprano Ailyn Pérez “possesses not only a gorgeous voice but the spirit and personality of a consummate storyteller” (Boston Classical Review). She has sung leading roles at many of the world’s great opera houses, including Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, London’s Royal Ballet and Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro Real, and San Francisco Opera. Her signature roles include Tosca, Cio-Cio-San (Madame Butterfly), and Desdemona (Otello), among others, and local audiences will remember her dazzling performances as Mimì (La Bohème, 2010) and Violetta (La Traviata, 2012). A regular at the Metropolitan Opera, she has sung numerous roles there and made history in 2023 in the title role of Florencia en el Amazonas, the Met’s first Spanish-language opera in nearly a century. Recent and upcoming engagements include her role and house debut in Manon Lescaut at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Katya Kabanova at Santa Fe Opera, Aida at Houston Grand Opera, and Desdemona at the Met, where she will also sing in its Diamond Jubilee.
Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges, praised for her “plush-voiced” singing (The New York Times) and “calmly commanding stage presence” (The New Yorker), performs frequently on the world’s leading opera and concert stages. Her portrayal of Bizet’s Carmen has taken her to the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real, Seattle Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and, most recently, Cincinnati Opera. Her roles at the Metropolitan Opera include Nefertiti in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, Maddalena in Rigoletto, and Mary in John Adams’s El Niño; she returns there this season for its Diamond Jubilee all-star gala. She has also appeared with San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Notable recent and upcoming engagements include performances with the BBC Proms, Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, China National Symphony Orchestra, and New Japan Philharmonic.
The New York Times praises tenor Matthew White’s “attractive, healthy voice,” and the New York Classical Review calls him a “distinctive tenor [with a] dark and powerful lyric sound.” Recent opera engagements have included Verdi’s Don Carlo at the Royal Danish Opera, Prince Vassily in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina at the Salzburg Easter Festival, and Alfredo (La Traviata) at Houston Grand Opera. Frequently performed roles include Don José (Carmen), Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly), Rodolfo (La Bohème), and the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto). He premiered and recorded Aaron Zigman’s Émigré with the New York Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic. A Cincinnati Opera favorite, he has sung Don José, Cavaradossi (Tosca), and Romeo (Romeo and Juliet) with the company. This season, he returns to Cincinnati to make his role debut as Calaf in Turandot, makes his Washington National Opera debut as Pinkerton, and sings the Duke at Opéra de Montréal.
GRAMMY®-nominated baritone Michael Chioldi is a leading interpreter of Verdi and Puccini, appearing at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Gran Teatre del Liceu. Bachtrack hailed his 2022 Metropolitan Opera Rigoletto as a triumph, calling his voice “muscular and grand.” At the Met, he has sung Nabucco, Amonasro (Aida), Sharpless (Madame Butterfly), Gérard (Andrea Chénier), and Don Alvaro in Florencia en el Amazonas, a production released as a GRAMMY®-nominated recording. Beyond the Met, his repertoire encompasses many of the great Verdi baritone roles, including Macbeth, Falstaff, Iago (Otello), Conte di Luna (Il Trovatore), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), and more. He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras throughout North America and Europe. Following his moving 2025 Rigoletto at Cincinnati Opera, he sings the role at San Diego Opera this season and returns to the Met as Amonasro.
Bass Soloman Howard’s voice has been called “sonorous” (The New York Times), “superhuman” (The Denver Post), and “a triumph” (The Guardian). He has performed at venues across the globe, including London’s Royal Opera House, Semperoper Dresden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, LA Opera, and Washington National Opera. Signature roles include Verdi’s Ramfis (Aida), Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlo), and Sparafucile (Rigoletto), along with Mozart’s Sarastro (The Magic Flute) and Wagner’s Fafner (Ring Cycle). His Metropolitan Opera credits include Sparafucile, Sarastro, the Commendatore (Don Giovanni), and Timur (Turandot), among others. In 2026-27, he sings Ramfis at the Met, makes house debuts at Houston Grand Opera and São Paulo’s Theatro Municipal, and debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra as Heinrich in Lohengrin under Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
Tickets & Information
Subscriptions to Cincinnati Opera’s 2027 Summer Festival, including Viva Verdi!, are currently on sale. Single tickets for Viva Verdi! go on sale February 9, 2027. Tickets and information are available at cincinnatiopera.org.
Media Contact:
Katie Syroney
Director of Communications
ksyroney@cincinnatiopera.org