San Francisco Opera Center Artistic Director Carrie-Ann Matheson and General Manager Markus Beam announced the 9 recipients of the 2026 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship. The cohort of talented young musicians begins the 2026 Fellowship in January, receiving individually tailored musical and performance training and a wide range of professional and personal development instruction. Since its inception in 1977, the prestigious Adler Fellowship has nurtured more than 200 young artists, launching the careers of many singers, conductors, vocal coaches, stage directors, arts professionals and educators throughout the industry.
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). Sadie Cheslak, Brian Cho, Alexa Frankian, Sofia Gotch and Gabriel Natal-Báez are incoming first-year fellows. Mary Hoskins, Ji Youn Lee, and Olivier Zerouali continue in the program as second-year fellows while Thomas Kinch returns as a third-year fellow.
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.
The 2025 Adler Fellows’ season culminates on Friday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Herbst Theatre with the annual showcase concert, The Future Is Now. The program of arias and operatic scenes, directed by Omer Ben Seadia, features the current Adler Fellows and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra under the baton of Ramón Tebar, who previously conducted the Company’s productions of L’Elisir d’Amore and La Bohème at the War Memorial Opera House.