American soprano Maria Valdes was recently described as a "first-rate singing actress and a perfectly charming Gilda" (New York Times.) The upcoming 2025–2026 season offers exciting debuts and welcome returns to familiar stages. On the symphonic stage, Ms. Valdes ​​makes her debut with Valdosta Symphony Orchestra singing Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and returns to Symphony San Jose to perform Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem and Bellingham Festival of Music singing Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Valdes returns to The Metropolitan Opera to cover Frida Image #1 in El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego.