S3, E10: “The 3 Native Sopranos: Dr. Kirsten C. Kunkle (Muskogee) & Kate Raquel Morton (Cherokee)”

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 Bizet Kate’s Picks: • Opera: Le nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with Isabel Leonard as Cherubino • Opera Singer: Jessye Norman Rachael’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/nativechoctalkpodcast All Podcast Episodes: https://nativechoctalk.com/podcasts/