August 2026. American soprano Emily Pogorelc stepped in on short notice this August to join the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra and its founder, conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson, for Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder — performing three concerts across Amsterdam, Hamburg, and Dublin as part of the orchestra’s 2026 European tour.
The engagement brought Pogorelc to the stage of the Concertgebouw ahead of her already-scheduled return to the hall this November, and marked her first performances with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, which Wilson founded in 2022 as a cultural response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The orchestra brings together Ukrainian musicians and international guest artists each summer, and has since performed at some of Europe and America’s most prominent halls, including the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center. The Guardian has called the ensemble a symbol of resilience and artistic excellence.
Pogorelc performed Mahler’s five songs — settings of poems by Friedrich Rückert — at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (August 19), the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (August 20), and the National Concert Hall in Dublin (August 22), on a program that also included Bohdana Frolyak’s Gloria and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7.
Reviewing the Amsterdam performance, Opera Magazine praised Pogorelc’s “pure voice and beautiful, accent-free diction,” singling out her account of “Liebst du um Schönheit” for its sparkling expression and noting that she navigated the shifting tempos of “Um Mitternacht” with confidence, her voice growing especially assured in the song’s higher registers. The publication called her closing performance of “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” a fitting, life-affirming end to the evening.
Writing in Het Parool, a Dutch critic reported that the Amsterdam audience’s warmest applause was reserved for Pogorelc, singling out her rendering of “Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft” — described as “velvety and sensually evocative” — as the highlight of the evening.
Reviews: