Grammy winner Karen Slack returns to Bienen School of Music

• Soprano Karen Slack leads a vocal master class 

• Monteverdi’s “L’incoronazione di Poppea” feature spring opera 

• Author Sandra Cisneros and composer Derek Bermel present a first look of their new opera “The House on Mango Street” 

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Fresh off her 2025 Grammy win, soprano Karen Slack returns to the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music April 30 to coach voice and opera students in the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class. The campus visit is open to the public and presented in collaboration with the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited program.  

Opera fans are also invited to experience Monteverdi’s political thriller “L’incoronazione di Poppea” and a reading and discussion for a brand-new opera “The House on Mango Street.” 

All events are open to the public and take place on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Tickets to performances are available from the Bienen School Ticket Office at 847-467-4000 or concertsatbienen.org. 

Program details follow: 

Karen Slack Vocal Master Class
Part of the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series 
Wednesday, April 30, 7 p.m. 
Galvin Recital Hall, 70 Arts Circle Drive 
Tickets are $10; $5 for full-time students with valid ID. 

Soprano Karen Slack is a sought-after performer, collaborator, curator and artistic advisor. Her debut album “Beyond the Years: Unpublished Songs of Florence Price,” recorded with pianist Michelle Cann, won a 2025 Grammy Award in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category. In this master class, she coaches Bienen School voice and opera students Kenneth Dulay, Solamada Pando Girard, Molly Snodgrass and Zachary Voigt.  

Sandra Cisneros and Derek Bermel: Reading, Discussion, and Performance from “The House on Mango Street”  
Wednesday, May 7, 7 p.m.   
Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 50 Arts Circle Drive 
Joachim Schamberger, moderator  
The Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences’ Litowitz MFA+MA Program and the Bienen School of Music present author Sandra Cisneros in conversation with composer Derek Bermel. The event will include a reading of poetry by Cisneros, a discussion between Cisneros and Bermel and a performance of select arias from “The House on Mango Street,” the new opera the two are writing together.    

Monteverdi’s “L’incoronazione di Poppea”  
Thursday through Saturday, May 29-31, 7:30 p.m. 
Sunday, June 1 at 3 p.m.
Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street 
Tickets are $18; $8 for full-time students with valid ID. 
Joachim Schamberger, director; Stephen Alltop, conductor; Baroque Music Ensemble  

Poppea, the mistress of Rome’s Emperor Nerone, is determined to ascend the throne — whatever the cost. In a world where gods influence mortal affairs, virtue doesn’t always triumph. This story of love, deception, murder and betrayal is as relevant today as it was in composer Claudio Monteverdi’s time, when it was one of the first operas to portray real historical events and figures. Northwestern University Opera Theater’s production blends ancient history with a modern setting in an exploration of desire and power’s allures, all interwoven through timeless music. It will be performed in Italian with English supertitles.