Soprano

Maya Kherani

LITHE AND RADIANT… QUIETLY MAGNETICThe New York Times
Soprano Maya Kherani in a beaded strapless gown, looking over her shoulder in warm evening light

About

Soprano Maya Kherani brings gleaming precision and impassioned conviction to Baroque, Classical, and contemporary repertoire. A leading Handel interpreter, she is renowned for her Messiah, which she has sung with the New York Philharmonic (Ton Koopman), Boston Baroque, the Baltimore Symphony, and Portland Baroque Orchestra.

This season she sings Messiah with Apollo's Fire (Jeannette Sorrell) and the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Bach's Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen and Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Boston Baroque in Marc Minkowski's inaugural season, and a debut with The English Concert and Harry Bicket. Her debut solo album, Solitaria, will be released on Lexicon Classics in 2027.

Career highlights include debuts at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and Château de Versailles Spectacles in L'incoronazione di Poppea (released on DVD) with Leonardo García-Alarcón; Sartorio's Orfeo at Opéra national de Montpellier with Philippe Jaroussky; and the title role in the world premiere of Pay the Piper at Glyndebourne. She has also worked with conductors including Václav Luks, Nicholas McGegan, Richard Egarr, Raphaël Pichon, and Patrick Dupré Quigley.

She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and holds a Master of Music with honors from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Professional Certificate from the Boston University Opera Institute. She lives in the Bay Area with her husband and two young children.

Schedule

  • Handel: Messiah

    December 4 to 6, 2026 · Northeast Ohio

    Apollo's Fire

    Jeannette Sorrell, conductor. With Rachael Wilson, mezzo-soprano; Ed Lyon, tenor; Edward Vogel, baritone. Details

  • Handel: Messiah

    December 13, 2026 · Providence, Rhode Island

    Rhode Island Philharmonic

    Christine Noel, conductor. With Emily Marvosh, mezzo-soprano; Jonas Budris, tenor; Andrew Garland, baritone. Details

  • Handel: Messiah

    December 15 to 17, 2026 · Chicago, Illinois

    Apollo's Fire

    Jeannette Sorrell, conductor. With Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano; Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, tenor; Kevin Deas, bass-baritone. Details

  • Handel: Messiah

    December 19 and 20, 2026 · Northeast Ohio

    Apollo's Fire

    Jeannette Sorrell, conductor. With Amanda Crider, mezzo-soprano; Jonathan Pierce Rhodes, tenor; Kevin Deas, bass-baritone. Details

  • Bach: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen; Pergolesi: Stabat Mater

    February 27 and 28, 2027 · Boston, Massachusetts

    Boston Baroque

    Marc Minkowski, conductor, with Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor. Details

Past Performances

Videos

Rejoice Greatly

Handel, Messiah

Signor, quell'infelice

Monteverdi, L'Orfeo

Qual farfalletta

Handel, Partenope

I know that my Redeemer liveth

Handel, Messiah

Music for a While

Purcell

Barbara Song (excerpt)

Weill, The Threepenny Opera

Fully equal to the startling leaps and vocal pirouettes that Handel requires… Rapid-fire scales and arpeggios came out effortlessly.SAN FRANCISCO CLASSICAL VOICE

Press

“channeled dazzling euphoria into the hairpin melismas of ‘Rejoice Greatly’ and shimmered with confidence in ‘I Know That My Redeemer Liveth’.”
Boston Globe · Messiah, Boston Baroque
“A performance that was by turns tender, vivacious and full of dazzling vocal displays.”
San Francisco Chronicle · The Marriage of Figaro, Opera San José
“a mesmerising Pied Piper […] with a song so high it vanishes into the ether.”
The Stage · Pay the Piper, Glyndebourne
“Her phrasings maintain the integrity of Bach’s vocal line, never pushing too hard, never underpowered.”
Parterre · Bach and Pergolesi, American Bach
“Pinpoint clarity and no‑holds‑barred declamation.”
San Francisco Classical Voice · Stabat Mater, American Bach

Read all reviews

Features

Maya Kherani being fitted for a costume backstage while pregnant
Photo: Sam Hellmann for The New York Times

More features

Contact

Athole Still Artists

Management
Athole Still Artists
Emma Ventris
Foresters Hall, 25-27 Westow Street
London SE19 3RY

emma@atholestill.co.uk
+44 7780 315 176

Direct
Email Maya

Stay in touch

A few times a year, I'll write with news of concerts and recordings.

I also publish personal essays on my other Substack newsletter, Unequal Temperament.