It’s that time of the year. The end of the year.

As with every year, 2025 was full of a lot of opera revelations in productions, concerts and competitions. So in recognitions of those breakouts, here’s a look at some of the young singers who are likely to make operatic waves in the very near future.

Here are OperaWire’s 10 rising stars of 2025  (in alphabetical order).

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Mihai Damian

Romanian baritone Mihai Damian has dominated the competition circuit for a few years now winning major prizes at the 62nd International Tenor Viñas Singing Competition, Houston Grand Opera Prize, Teatro Real Prize, Eva Marton International Singing Competition in Budapest, and Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino. This past fall he had a major break through when he took home the top prize at the Operalia competition where he also claimed the Rolex Audience Prize and the Cultural Prize.

A 2024 graduate of the Gheorghe Dima National Academy of Music in Cluj, Damian was immediately asked to join the ensemble of Romanian National Opera in Cluj where he has already sung many leading roles from Puccini, Donizetti and Mozart. Since then he has already performed with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma at the Terme di Caracalla, and Ópera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

This season, he makes his role debuts as Mercutio in Gounod’s “Roméo et Juliette” at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and as Ford in Verdi’s “Falstaff” at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari. He will also participate in the world in the world premiere of  Umberto Giordano’s “Marina.”

And as he continue his rise in the opera world, Damian has already locked up debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera & Ballet, Staatsoper Berlin, New National Theatre Tokyo and Dallas Opera lined up.

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Sandra Hamaoui

Described for “possessing a fresh voice with a beautiful timbre, rich in colours and nuance,” soprano Sandra Hamaoui has slowly built a career performing at Opernhaus Zürich as an ensemble member, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées,  Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Palau de les Arts, and Staatsoper Hamburg. Her repertoire includes Juliette in “Romeeo et Juliette,” Gilda in “Rigoletto,” Susanna in “Le nozze di Figaro,” and Nanetta in “Falstaff.”

This past September she surprised audiences when she made her unexpected Wiener Staatsoper debut during a gala concert performing the role of “Manon,” which was televised worldwide. She later won the breakthrough artist of the year from the Palau de les Arts for her critically acclaimed performance as Sœur Constance in Robert Carsen’s production of “Dialogues des Carmélites.” For those performances she was praised for her “agile, bright coloratura.”

This season the soprano will return to the Opernhaus Zürich and will also sing at Opera Naples. She also sings at the Festivals of Gstaad and Baden-Baden and makes her long awaited role debut as Violetta in “La traviata” at the Teatro Padilla de Almería.

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Theo Hoffman

This past November, American baritone Theo Hoffman became a Grammy nominee for his debut album “Schubert Beatles,” an album that paired Schubert songs with Beatles songs. The album was wildly acclaimed and showed Hoffman’s range as a singer. 

That same month, he made his role debut as Oreste in “Iphigénie en Tauride” at the Opéra Comique in Paris, as well as in concert with Washington Concert Opera, which garnered great attention.

Throughout the past years Hoffman has built a strong career singing a wide range of repertoire and performing at the some of the great theaters in the world including the Opernhaus Zürich, Staatsoper Hamburg, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Atlanta Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera, among many others. He was a 2018 Richard Tucker Music Foundation Sara Tucker Study Grant and was a Grand Finalist in the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He also trained with the LA Opera as a Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist and was 2015 third prize-winner in the Gerda Lissner Foundation’s International Vocal Competition. 

Looking ahead, Hoffman performs with the New York Festival of Song.

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Carolina López Moreno

In December 2024, when Carolina López Moreno sang the role of Magda in “La Rondine,” the London Symphony critics proclaimed “A Star is Born.”

Those performances marked the start of an international career for the Bolivian-Albanian soprano, who would go on to make unexpected debuts at the Semperoper Dresden, Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Royal Opera House. She also made unexpected debuts at the Teatro Carlo Felice and Teatro San Carlo.

Since then, López Moreno has performed at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Opera Menorca, Teatro Regio di Torino, and Festival Puccini Torre del Lago, among many important theaters.

The soprano has also become known for her Italian repertoire especially her Puccini roles like “Madama Butterfly,” and “La Bohème” as well as her Verdi roles Alice Ford in “Falstaff,” Violetta Valéry in “La Traviata,” and Leonora “Il Trovatore.” 

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Dave Monaco

Operalia has become the competition where many artists get their start and where company’s discover new artists. This past fall, Italian tenor Dave Monaco broke out winning third prize as well as the Special Prize by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture at the prestigious competition. His audition marked the discovery of a promising Bel Canto tenor.

A graduate of the Accademia Rossiniana directed by Ernesto Palacio, the tenor has sung many of the Pesaro composer’s works at leading opera houses and festivals including Teatro alla Scala, Teatro La Fenice, Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur, the Teatro Comunale, Bologna, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Festival della Valle d’Itria, Gran Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg, the Opéra de Reims, the Opéra de Caen, Teatro Filarmonico, Verona, and the Rossini Opera Festival.

He has also expanded his repertoire singing roles by Donizetti, Bellini, Mozart, Puccini, and Lamberto Curtoni.

Up next he sings at the Teatro Comunale Nouveau, Bologna and makes his debut at the Canadian Opera Company and New National Theatre, Tokyo.

Learn more about the tenor here.

Miles Mykkanen

Finnish-American tenor Miles Mykkanen has taken an interesting path in opera, singing a wide range of roles from leading ones to supporting characters. His repertoire has also been dedicated to concerts and he is one of the most in demand singers for Handel’s Messiah, which he has performed with the symphonies of Atlanta, Kansas City, Indianapolis, and New Jersey, as well as the National Symphony Orchestra. He has also found an outlet in cabaret and song recitals performing at Joe’s Pub, Neue Galerie’s Cabaret at Café Sabarsky, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2019, Mykkanen has performed at many of the leading opera companies in the world including Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, and Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

This past fall, he broke out at the Met with his first leading role with the company in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.” Critics raved about his performance noting, “He brought warmth” and “lyrical” sound. That interpretation is set to be presented Live in HD in 2026. Mykkanen will also return later this season to the role of The Groom in “Innocence” which he first performed with the San Francisco Opera.

Coming up, he makes two dual house and role debuts in “Daphne” at the Seattle Opera, and “The Magic Flute” at LA Opera.

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Edward Nelson

The past two seasons have been a whirlwind for American baritone Edward Nelson who made an unexpected debut with the Dallas Operas in “Pelléas et Mélisande,” an opera that has become a signature of his, among other important debuts such the Teatro Regio di Torino. In September, he opened the Metropolitan Opera in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” becoming one of the standouts of the evening.

OperaWire noted, “Edward Nelson was a standout as Tracy, illuminating the stage with tremendous vocal and physical confidence.”

Nelson is a 2020 Glyndebourne Cup winner and a finalist and encouragement award winner of the 2021 Operalia Competition. He is also Third Prize winner of the 2021 Ottavio Ziino Competition in Rome and a recipient of grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Shoshana Foundation. He is also an alumni of the Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship

He has debuted at the Teatro real, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Regio Torino, San Francisco Opera, Norwegian National Opera, Ópera de Oviedo, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Boston Lyric Opera. He is also an avid concert performer.

This season Nelson makes his debut at the Houston Grand Opera, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, the Teatro Colón de A Coruña, and Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège.

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Alexandra Nowakowski

A Metropolitan Opera debut is always special for any singer, especially when you are singing a leading role. That’s exactly what happened to Polish-American coloratura Alexandra Nowakowski, who made her Opera debut as Amina stepping for an ill colleague.

She was a triumph with Gramophone writing, “From the opening recit before ‘Come per me sereno’, Ms Nowakowski spun a lovely pianissimo line; her high phrases in the cavatina itself as graceful and pitch-perfect as one could want. The showy cabaletta, ‘Sovra il sen la man mi posa,’ a wildly decorated theme and variations, was dispatched with ease and spotless high notes, while the audience held its breath.”

Nowakowski is a Cafritz Young Artist graduate as well as a semi-finalist for the inaugural Glyndebourne Opera Cup and First Prize winner of the Vocal Arts DC Art Song Discovery Competition. She has performed Wolf Trap Opera,  Brooklyn Art Society, and Ópera de Oviedo. In between contracts, she dedicates her time to her personal project The Opera Kitchen, a private dinner experience bringing opera to new audiences.

Up next, she returns to the Ópera de Oviedo and performs at the Semana Religiosa de Cuenca.

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Kathleen O’Mara

In 2024, Kathleen O’Mara surprised audiences when she took home the first prize and Birgit Nilsson award at the Operalia Competition. That announced her to the world as a major soprano to look out for. Then in 2025 she added another accolade winning first Prize at the 2025 Queen Sonja Singing Competition.

A graduate of the LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program and recipient of the Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, O’Mara further proved herself when she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in a show stopping performance as Berta in “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” OperaWire noted that she showcased some “powerful high notes.” That was brought to movie theaters around the world. During the 2025-26 season she returned to the Met for “Don Giovanni” in two unexpected performances.

During the 2024-25 season, O’Mara grew her stature in the opera world making debuts at the Teatro alla Scala and the San Diego Opera and performed with the LA Philharmonic.

Up next the soprano returns to the Teatro alla Scala and makes her debut at the Seattle Opera as well as the San Fe Opera.

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The end of the 2024-25 season, Chinese-American mezzo-soprano was cast in her first leading role at the Metropolitan Opera as Cherubino in “Le Nozze di Fiagro.” While she debuted with the company in the 2023-24 season in “La Rondine,” Cherubino was the moment for the mezzo to shine with critics raving she “was a solid Cherubino.”

Fast forward a few months and Pierce was opening the Met’s new season in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” raising her profile even more. She delivered another show-stopping series of performances.

A winner of the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and a graduate of the prestigious Butler Studio at Houston Grand Opera and the Operalia Competition, Pierce also distinguished herself at the Marilyn Horne Song Competition, Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition, and Butler Opera International Voice Competition. She has performed with the Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Des Moines Metro Opera, New Orleans Opera, Berkshire Opera Festiva, and Calgary Opera.