2025-26 Program Book - Other - Page 35
Emilie Kealani
SOPRANO
Praised by The Wall Street Journal for her “delicate”
and “ideal” title role portrayal in La Calisto at The
Glimmerglass Festival, Filipino American Emilie
Kealani Suarez makes her Opera Philadelphia debut
as Corinna in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims and has been
named an Emerging Artists for their 2025-26 season.
Seen onstage with The Santa Fe Opera, The
Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis,
and Curtis Opera Theatre, Emilie made a “hauntingly
drawn and vocally fulfilled” international debut
with Staatsoper Stuttgart in their 2023 Calixto Bieito
revival of Jenůfa. With crossover credits in Candide,
Into the Woods, and West Side Story, Kealani’s performances have been celebrated
for displaying “a joy in singing, an empathy in her outrageous stage personality, and
jaw-dropping technique.” Beyond the stage, she has made several appearances as
a guest on PBS’s WHYY TV-12 programming, has been featured in the Soundbites
Column of Opera News, and is the founder of the Kapwa Passion Project. An alumna
of Curtis Institute of Music and The Manhattan School of Music, Emilie’s previous
roles include Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Cunegonde in Candide, Dalinda in Ariodante,
Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw, and she also covered Vixen in The Cunning Little
Vixen and Poppea in The Comet/Poppea.
Emilie is a proud Filipina from San Francisco, with deep roots that extend to Pā‘ia,
Maui, bringing the spirit and influence of Hawaiian culture into her identity. Selftaught on the traditional ukulele, Emilie grew up surrounded by family who danced
Hula and Tahitian. She founded the Kapwa Passion Project in 2024 by programming
Kundimans (traditional Tagalog love songs) in concerts, with the hope of sharing this
exquisite and emotionally rich music with wider audiences. The project strives to
bring AAPI artists together, creating events ranging from multidisciplinary recitals to
panel discussions with artists representing the Bengali, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian,
Indian, Japanese, Korean, and Tongan communities. Kawpa is featured on PBS WHYY
TV-12 in their new Concert Specials Series during May 2025 and 2026 to celebrate
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Emilie received the inaugural Stephen de Maio Memorial Award, an encouragement
award from The Gerda Lissner Foundation, won the Philadelphia District of the 2025
Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and other awards with Opera Mississippi's
John Alexander National Vocal Competition, The National Shirley Rabb Winston
Competition, Schmidt Undergraduate Awards, Beach Blanket Babylon, and National
YoungArts Foundation.
POPS SERIES STRAUSS' 200TH BIRTHDAY 35
