San Francisco Opera Center Artistic Director Carrie-Ann Matheson and General Manager Markus Beam have announced the nine recipients of the 2026 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship.

The young musicians begin the 2026 Fellowship in January, receiving individually tailored musical and performance training and a wide range of professional and personal development instruction.

The artists selected as 2026 Adler Fellows are sopranos Alexa Frankian (Oakville, Ontario, Canada), Sofia Gotch (Oakland, California) and Mary Hoskins (Saratoga Springs, Utah); mezzo-soprano Sadie Cheslak (Duluth, Minnesota); tenor Thomas Kinch (Cardiff, Wales); baritones Gabriel Natal-Báez (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) and Olivier Zerouali (Middletown, Delaware); and coaches/pianists Brian Cho (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and Ji Youn Lee (Seoul, South Korea).

Cheslak, Cho, Frankian, Gotch, and Natal-Báez are incoming first-year fellows; Hoskins, Lee, and Zerouali continue in the program as second-year fellows; and Kinch returns as a third-year fellow.

The San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows are trained in musical technique and preparation, foreign language skills, acting technique and movement, as well as financial management, leadership development, mental and emotional resilience, physical health and wellness and other skills necessary for a musical career in the twenty-first century.

Adler singers are often cast in mainstage roles and leading cover assignments, and Adler pianists work closely with San Francisco Opera music staff to help prepare mainstage operas.

The 2025 Adlers concluding their fellowships at the end of this year are sopranos Georgiana Adams, Caroline Corrales and Olivia Smith, tenor Samuel White, baritone Samuel Kidd, bass-baritone Jongwon Han and pianist Julian Grabarek.

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