Dallas Opera Selects 2026/2027 Participants for Hart Institute

The Dallas Opera has announced the 2026/2027 participants of its International Opera Award-winning Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors (HIWC): Sara Corriga (Italy), Mariana Corichi Gómez (Mexico), Chi-Yuan Lin (Taiwan), and Rafaela Seywald (Austria).

The four conductors were selected from a pool of 83 applicants after two rounds of adjudication. Adjudicators included TDO music staffer Christopher Devlin, TDO Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director Emmanuel Villaume, and TDO Kern Wildenthal General Director and CEO David Lomelí.

'These women are at the apex of great talent and charisma, who can lead musicians fearlessly,' Lomelí says. 'They will do great things in their career, and our monumental program is going to slingshot them into their bright futures.'

The Dallas Opera launched the Hart Institute in 2015 to address the gender imbalance on opera podiums and to train new generations of women conductors. Since then, more than 50 conductors have gone through this extraordinary leadership program, which in 2025 celebrated an International Opera Awards win in the Equal Opportunities and Impact category.

This year's Institute begins with a week of virtual sessions and panels on November 9, 2026, for the four participants. During that week, the participants will work with HIWC alumna and Yale Symphony Orchestra Director Elizabeth Askren, TDO Head of Music and Chorus Director Paolo Bressan, Bayerische Staatsoper General Director Serge Dorny, 2026/2027 HIWC Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Fellow Claire Lewis, and Emmanuel Villaume.

In January 2027, the four participants will travel to Dallas to participate in a 10-day in-person intensive, which will include rehearsals with The Dallas Opera Orchestra, group trainings, and one-on-one sessions with master teacher Elizabeth Askren. The in-person Institute will culminate with the annual HIWC Showcase Concert on January 30, 2027. During the concert, each of the four participants will display their prowess while conducting The Dallas Opera Orchestra and guest singers at the Winspear Opera House in Dallas, Texas.

ABOUT THE CONDUCTORS

Sara Corriga: Italian conductor Sara Corriga studied at the Milan Conservatory and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, where she's currently pursuing an orchestral conducting master's degree. She has trained with the Riccardo Muti Italian Opera Academy, Järvi Academy, and Alan Gilbert. She has also worked as an assistant conductor with Estonian National Opera and Riga Opera Festival.

Mariana Corichi Gómez: Mexican conductor Mariana Corichi Gómez is currently the Curtis Institute of Music's Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow. She was a quarterfinalist in the 2026 La Maestra International Competition for Women Conductors. She has worked with companies and festivals all over the world. Previously, she also was Princeton Camerata's music director and studied at Princeton University and University of Maryland.

Chi-Yuan Lin: Taiwanese conductor Chi-Yuan Lin has worked with symphonic and opera companies and festivals around the world. She is the 2026–28 Taki Alsop Conducting fellow, Avanti Orchestra's Music Director, and Reno Philharmonic's inaugural McConnell Conducting Fellow. From 2024 to 2026, Lin served as Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center's conductor, the first Taiwanese artist appointed to the program.

Rafaela Seywald: Austrian conductor Rafaela Seywald is currently Bayerische Staatsoper's Maestra Suggeritrice, stage music conductor, and chief conductor's musical assistant. She has conducted with companies like Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Szolnok Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Classics Symphony Orchestra, and Bayerisches Staatsorchester. With stage director Adriana Hernandez Flores, she co-created the award-winning mockumentary Remember Me, a film-opera rendition of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas.

MORE ABOUT THE HART INSTITUTE

The Hart Institute has been one of the brass rings for women conductors over the past 11 years, having already offered career advancement through advanced coaching and mentorship to more than 50 women. These alumnae have gone on to receive appointments as music directors, principal conductors, principal guest conductors, and guest conductors on some of the world's most prestigious stages, including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Australia, Washington National Opera, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Musikverein in Vienna, New York Philharmonic, BBC Proms, LA Opera, Seattle Symphony, Lyric Opera of Chicago, West Australian Ballet, English National Opera, Delaware Symphony, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, and many more.

MORE ABOUT THE MARTHA R. AND PRESTON A. PEAK FELLOWSHIP

The Martha R. and Preston A. Peak Fellowship was established during the 2025/2026 season, with Jingqi Zhu (HIWC class of 2023) as the inaugural Peak Fellow. The position provides practical, firsthand experience as an assistant conductor, rehearsal pianist, offstage conductor, vocal coach, assistant chorus director, and more. Each season, the new Peak Fellow is selected from the previous season's Hart Institute class. The 2026/2027 Season Peak Fellow is Claire Lewis.

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