In season 2, episode 10, I interviewed Composer, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate about his upcoming and unprecedented opera, “Shell Shaker, a Chickasaw Opera”, the first opera ever written in the Chickasaw language.And now I’d like to introduce you to 2 award-winning Native opera singers who you’ll find performing in that upcoming opera, February of 2023 at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA• Dr. Kirsten C. Kunkle (Muskogee) is a Spinto Soprano, Composer, and Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Wilmington Concert Opera. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lfDoSR6Jkg • Kate Raquel Morton (Cherokee) recently graduated from Oklahoma City University and is a Lyric Mezzo-Soprano. Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCNN-3UuaQ As someone who used to sing opera myself, I suggested we 3 share our favorite opera picks for someone who’s just getting their feet wet in the genre (search on YouTube for the following):Kirsten’s Picks: • Opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti• Opera: La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini• Opera: Carmen by Georges BizetKate’s Picks: • Opera: Le nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Isabel Leonard as Cherubino• Opera Singer: Jessye NormanRachael’s Picks: • Aria (song): Nessun dorma from Turandot by Giacomo Puccini, sung by Luciano Pavarotti • Opera Singer: Beverly Sills In this episode, you’ll hear about:• Intermountain Opera Bozeman: https://www.intermountainopera.org/ • Kate’s foil fencing, Cherokee language speaking, guitar playing, the fact that she’s an “Okie from Muskogee” and the one thing she cannot do• Kirsten and Kate’s own Muskogee and Cherokee family histories• Baby Diva (a force to be reconned with)• Yellowstone’s 150 year anniversary in which Kate sang and Kirsten wrote and performed a piece called “Reclaim the Land”. To learn more, check out:• Kirsten: https://www.wilmingtonconcertopera.com/• Kate: https://www.kateraquelmorton.com• Jerod: https://www.facebook.com/jerodtate Yakoke, y’all! Native ChocTalk Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/nativechoctalkpodcastAll Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/