SOPRANO
Longer bio
American lyric soprano Sydney Kucine is an emerging artist with a growing presence on operatic and concert stages. In the summer of 2026, she will cover the role of Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Opera Maine. In the previous season, Ms. Kucine returned to Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium in New York City as the soprano soloist in the Gloria from Misa Criolla. She has also appeared as Pamina in The Magic Flute on a United States tour with acclaimed author Carolyn Sloan and was the soprano soloist for Górecki’s Symphony No. 3, Op. 36. Earlier engagements include singing the Gloria at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and appearing as soprano soloist in Fauré’s Requiem at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City.
Ms. Kucine began her professional career as an Apprentice Artist with Sarasota Opera at the age of 23. During her time there, she performed Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and covered Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She also demonstrated her versatility through staged scenes and concert performances, including Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. Although the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of scheduled performances as Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte, she continued to refine her craft through intensive study and performance opportunities.
Her international performance experience includes appearances in Greece, where she portrayed Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore and Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Festival of the Aegean. She was also the soprano soloist for Mozart’s Requiem in D minor with the Pan Philharmonic of Warsaw, conducted by Peter Tiboris. Additional performances have taken place at notable venues such as the Tatoi Palace in Athens and the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm in Germany.
Ms. Kucine has received numerous awards and honors, including prizes from The Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, The Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, and The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She has also been a semifinalist in several major international competitions, including the Teatro alla Scala International Competition for Lyric Opera Singers, The George & Nora London Foundation Competition, and a four-time semifinalist in the James Toland International Vocal Competition. Additional honors include first-place awards from the Burlingame Music Club Competition, the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition, and the Kotzschmar Concerto Competition.
A graduate of the Mannes College of Music at The New School, Ms. Kucine performed the role of Mrs. Grose in Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw under the baton of Daniela Candillari. In the summer of 2018, she attended the Chautauqua Conservatory, a formative period in her artistic development, where she covered Micaëla in the mainstage production of Carmen and participated in recitals with Craig Rutenberg and *Mikael Eliasen. She also worked in master classes with Matthew Rose and Ben Moore and studied closely with Marlena Malas, Bénédicte Jourdois, and Martin Dubé.
Fluent in Italian, Ms. Kucine studied the language at the Accademia Europea di Firenze. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Deborah Voigt, and a Master’s degree from the Mannes School of Music, where she studied with the late Ruth Falcon.
Musical Roots and Mission
Born in Portland, Maine, Sydney began her musical studies at the age of six. She grew up studying voice and piano privately with her choir director, Jaye Churchill, learning to read music before she could read words. For twelve years, she sang with the all-girls choir Musica de Filia and was recognized as a soloist in Maine’s all-state auditioned festivals. At the age of nine, she made her operatic debut as a children’s chorister in Carmen with PortOpera (now Opera Maine), an experience that first sparked her love for opera. That passion deepened when she was introduced to Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro,” setting her firmly on a path toward a life in music. Sydney continued her formal training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Deborah Voigt, beginning a mentorship that helped shape both her artistic and personal growth.
Beyond the stage, Sydney is deeply committed to using music as a force for connection and healing. She founded a music school dedicated to enriching lives through music and community, and during this work she taught piano twice weekly to a four-year-old child undergoing cancer treatment—an experience that profoundly shaped her artistic purpose. She is currently developing a foundation that will provide free music lessons to children navigating cancer treatment, ensuring access to music during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Sydney’s deepest passion is creating a better world through music, and her ultimate goal is to bring opera everywhere—pairing performance with humanitarian work that inspires, uplifts, and connects people across the world.
