Sonya Yoncheva has officially ĪCŌN, a new audiovisual project connecting bel canto and new technologies with the first video single, “Ah, non credea mirarti” from Bellini’s “La sonnambula.”

The new video is available on YouTube and musical selections will be accompanied with a video created through the us of AI.

In a statement Yonchev said, “ĪCŌN was recorded in a theatre with more than 120 people on stage. For the video of ‘Ah! Non credea mirarti,’ it required an AI studio with 12 additional people involved – which ultimately makes it a profoundly human work. This project is not about replacing art, but about confronting it with the future. With ĪCŌN, I wanted to open a conversation. To explore and understand the limits of technology, and in doing so, to reaffirm the truthful presence of real art-making and its necessity in our lives. I also wanted to face my own fears and fascination as an artist, and to find a way to speak to a younger generation – not by ignoring their new languages and visual interests, but by engaging with them.”

She continued, “The first video, centered around a humanoid robot, required a great deal of time and many people to reach something that could come close to the quality of a real video. This brought everything to a very paradoxical point – a machine-made video telling the story of a machine from the future that becomes almost human because it discovers real emotion through singing the music of Vincenzo Bellini. I was deeply moved by the idea that Bellini himself meets her at a moment of despair and offers her his music – creating a real bridge between the past and the future. In that moment, music becomes the only true emotional catalyst, forming a kind of time capsule. Even the audience – a mix of robots and figures from different époques – reflects this suspended reality. This made me think, as an artist, that we always have the choice to lose everything – no matter the époque, no matter the challenges – but we can never lose the beauty of music and live performance.”

The soprano added, “Directing this video was an incredible adventure for me, as I could experience both the limitations of AI and the unlimited world of human imagination. I understood that no AI will ever replace our emotions, our fantasies… but I also understood that this exchange is possible – and meaningful in the times we live in. The only condition is clear: we must use it, and never let it use us. I am looking forward to the next videos, which will explore different themes of our époque, as ĪCŌN is truly a portrait of our time. They will not necessarily be created with AI, but they will always address important questions of our world.”

ĪCŌN will feature arias from Bellini and Donizetti and was recorded in 2024 with the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera Carlo Felice Genova and conducted by Francesco Ivan Ciampa.