Pretty Yende was invited to sing at the star-studded Metropolitan Opera’s 50th Anniversary Gala at Lincoln Center earlier this month. Joined by American Bass-Baritone Eric Owens, Ms. Yende sang Bess in the duet “Bess, you is my woman now” from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, and she portrayed Norina in a selection from Don Pasquale with baritone Mariusz Kwiecien.

“Ms. Yende, who sang beautifully in a scene from Donizetti’s “Don Pasquale” with the baritone Mariusz Kwiecien, also brought melting warmth and tenderness to the duet from Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” (“Bess, you is my woman now”), joined by the formidable bass-baritone Eric Owens. (The Met clearly has two leads ready to go for a revival, which is overdue.)” (Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times)

The Metropolitan Opera moved to its current home in 1966, where it has invited the world’s most important opera singers to perform. Ms. Yende made her critically acclaimed house debut in 2013, as a last minute replacement for soprano Diana Damrau in Rossini’s Comte Ory. Beloved by the New York City audience since her debut, Ms. Yende has frequently been invited to return to the Metropolitan Opera’s stage singing roles such as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette and Elvira in I puritani. She returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2017/18 season as Adina in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.