Soprano

Maya Kherani

"From her opening ornate aria, Maya Kherani’s Partenope sailed through Handel’s effusive coloratura with gleaming precision and impassioned conviction. She dominated this production the same way an excellent Violetta commands Verdi’s La Traviata."

San Diego Story

Praised for her "rich, soaring soprano" and “crystalline tone” (Opera News), Indian-American soprano MAYA KHERANI has been lauded for her vibrant voice and exciting characterizations in repertoire from the Baroque to the modern. This season's engagements include a debut with the New York Philharmonic in Messiah with Ton Koopman, Handel's Agrippina condotta a morire with Jeffrey Thomas and American Bach Soloists, Handel's Silete venti with Portland Baroque Orchestra and Julian Perkins, and returns to Boston Baroque for Messiah and American Bach Soloists for Baroque bravura arias for New Year's Eve. Career highlights include debuts at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Château de Versailles Spectacles as DRUSILLA/FORTUNA in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Leonardo García Alarcón released on DVD; AUTONOE in Sartorio’s Orfeo with Philippe Jaroussky with Opéra national de Montpellier; PIPER in Pay the Piper (world premiere) at Glyndebourne; BARBARINA / SUSANNA (cover) with Raphaël Pichon and Handel and Haydn Society; ZERLINA in Don Giovanni at Boston Baroque; Muffat’s Missa in labore requies with Richard Egarr and Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra; Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Vancouver Symphony; NITOCRIS in Handel’s Belshazzar, Messiah and Bach’s Mass in A major with American Bach Soloists; Messiah with Boston Baroque and Portland Baroque Orchestra; Reena Esmail’s Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz with Berkeley Symphony; and SUSANNA in Le Nozze di Figaro, BELINDA in Dido and Aeneas, and DESPINA in Così fan tutte at Opera San Jose. Maya graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude, San Francisco Conservatory of Music with honors, and the Boston University Opera Institute.

June 28, 2023
The New York Times

What Opera Singers Gained, and Lost, Performing While Pregnant

More than five years after the #MeToo movement sparked an overdue investigation of sexual harassment and misconduct in classical music, the field is buzzing with voices calling for more equity around pregnancy and parenthood.

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“Maya Kherani brings intelligence, vulnerability, and a rich, soaring soprano.”

– Opera News