From Whitefish Bay to Munich, rising soprano Emily Pogorelc is an opera name to remember

Florentine Opera has brought Whitefish Bay High School grad Emily Pogorelc back home to star in its new production of Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" – by way of Munich.

But that's not another case of wacky airline routing. Pogorelc, a soprano, is an ensemble member of the Bayerische Staatsoper, or Bavarian State Opera. In opera terms, that's akin to playing for the New York Yankees. Her other engagements this season have included or will include performances in Prague, Amsterdam, Reykjavik and the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Florentine opens its season with "Romeo et Juliette" performances Oct. 14 and 16 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center.

As children and teens, Pogorelc and her younger sister Alison performed with a number of different local community and professional theaters; Emily had roles in shows by the Shorewood Players, Bay Players, Windfall Theatre, Acacia Theatre, First Stage and the Florentine.

Emily said in a recent interview that Alison was a better actor. Critiquing herself, Emily said that she talked too fast, making her voice rise, and that "my dancing wasn't very good."

But "when I started singing, something clicked," she said.

As a high school sophomore she entered the Music Teachers National Association vocal competition, singing "Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen" from Carl Marie von Weber's "Der Freischutz," an unusual choice. Drawing on what she learned from musical theater, Pogorelc was able to make her performance more animated. She won the national competition in 2012.

Pogorelc had found her path in opera. "I could act so much more naturally and so much better when there was music," she said.

After graduating from Whitefish Bay in 2014, Pogorelc studied at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The soprano was still a Curtis student when she was tapped on short notice for the role of Chan Parker in the new opera "Charlie Parker's Yardbird" at New York's Apollo Theater. New York Times reviewer Zachary Woolfe didn't love the opera, but praised her: "The incisive, lively soprano Emily Pogorelc stood out among the other women in the musician’s life."

Curtis also played a role in Pogorelc joining the Munich opera company. A talent scout heard her audition at Curtis. Every time he moved to a new company, he asked her to audition there. Eventually he came to Munich, where she auditioned again.

Asked about her willingness to play Cherubino in "The Marriage of Figaro," a role normally assigned to a mezzo-soprano, a lower voice range, Pogorelc took up the challenge. She made a video for Munich of her singing the role in high-energy comic mode. Although she was sick with "a horrible cold" when she recorded it, Bayerische Staatsoper staff loved it and brought her onboard.

Conductor Francesco Milioto recruited Porogelc to sing in Florentine's "Romeo et Juliette"; they met at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where Milioto is a staff member and Porogelc was formerly a member of the Ryan Opera Center training program.

Pogorelc was attracted to the growth of her character in Gounod's opera. "More than anything, she just wants autonomy over her own life. And I think that's extremely relatable," she said.

She made that point to a roomful of Whitefish Bay High School choir members she visited recently during a break from rehearsals. "This is someone like you, someone who is under the thumb of their parents … and just wants the ability to make choices and wants the ability to figure out what life has in store," she remembers telling the students.

Pogorelc acknowledges that she's still young enough as a singer that "my voice continues to surprise me on pretty much a quarterly basis on where it's going and how it's advancing."

Every few months, she finds that her voice thickens a little. High notes have become easier, "a little bit more beautiful and more grounded," she said.

So while her sound, to use her words, has become "more appealing," she also admits she has to work harder. "I used to be able to get away with not warming up," she confessed. Just like an athlete, today she needs to warm up and cool down appropriately to sing her best.

She also hopes one day to be part of a family production. Her sister Alison is building a career as an opera and theater director.

Contact Jim Higgins at jim.higgins@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jhiggy.

More: What’s going on in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin in fall 2022

If you go

Florentine Opera performs Gounod's "Romeo et Juliette" at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 and 2:30 Oct. 16 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center's Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. The opera is in French. For tickets, visit florentineopera.org or call (414) 291-7500 ext. 224.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Florentine Opera's 'Romeo et Juliette' stars native Emily Pogorelc