Breanna Sinclairé fled from a conservative, religious, sometimes abusive family in Baltimore and moved West to study opera at the California Institute of Arts and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She made history as the first transwoman to sing with the SF Symphony and to sing the National Anthem at a professional sporting event – a baseball game between the Oakland A’s and the San Diego Padres.

Ms. Sinclairé was eager to make her professional operatic stage debut in Toronto last year when COVID derailed those plans. As California eases its pandemic restrictions, her June 20 performance in San Francisco’s esteemed Old First Concerts series will be among the first wave of public, indoor, live-audience music events in the city since March 2020.

Ms. Sinclairé’s path has not been easy. She has overcome many hardships, including discrimination, homelessness and abuse to become the opera star she is today. Hear her extraordinary story and amazing voice on this week’s Out in the Bay.

A special Pride Month request: We’re participating in Give OUT Day, a national fundraiser for LGBTQ non-profits that runs all June! Please help us bring queer content to The Bay, the state, the USA and beyond. When you give any amount to Out in the Bay via Give OUT Day, you’ll help us qualify for bonuses on top of your $$s. Bonuses are based on the number of donors, not the dollar amount. So even $10 can make a big impact. Please donate today and spread the word to help us keep sharing LGBTQ voices with the world. THANK YOU!!

Photo of soprano Breanna Sinclairé by JP Lor, courtesy of David Perry & Associates. More information about Ms. Sinclairé, with links to performances, can be found here.