‍Forrópera is a project co-created by North American vocalist/composer Chrystal E. Williams and Brazilian accordionist/composer Felipe Hostins as a way to foster unity, peace, and understanding through their musical marriage.

Combining elements of Brazilian folk music and classical opera, the husband/wife duo began their musical collaboration in 2016. They started out working with inner city schools, helping students use music as a way of expression and growth.Working with students of different backgrounds and prior levels of musical training, Forrópera residencies joyfully empower participants through co-created music, drama, and dance. A combination of forró (meaning “for all”) and opera (meaning “work”), Forrópera’s mission is to create and share works of art that are truly for all.

The current season marks new milestones including the duo’s Carnegie Hall debut in a world premiere written for them and the American Composers Orchestra by composer John Glover and librettist Kelley Rourke. They were also featured performers of the Black Heritage Day celebration in co-production with Greensboro Opera and the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum Music Festival, as well as featured performers of the American Composers Orchestra’s gala fundraiser. 

May 2021 saw the premiere of the Forrópera Experiência, in collaboration with Astral Artists and the Esperanza Arts Center. Other recent engagements include those with Opera Delaware, Baltimore Opera, and the Kaufman Music Center’s “Musical Storefronts” Series. They have also collaborated with artists including Forró in the Dark, Gil Oliveira, Jake Owen, Gabe Hall-Rodrigues, Löic da Silva, and Davi Vieira, among others.

Felipe Hostins, composer and accordionist/multi-instrumentalist, was born in Blumenau, Santa Catarina in Brazil. He discovered the accordion through his grandfather, Valmor Hostins, at the age of 3. At the age of 21, he moved to the United States, starting his international career.

From an early age, Hostins explored various musical styles, creating a unique blend of his own from diverse influences. A recent review of his new composition Meu Brasil de Cristal raved “Hostins had an entire orchestra in his accordion. He asked of Williams both bel canto agility and low register digs into sorrow, and she carried it beautifully” (The Philadelphia Inquirer).

Hostins is involved in many projects and is a featured composer and performer on the album CHAMA by Cyro Baptista, as well as a performer and the co-composer of the album IMIGRA in partnership with Ian Ruas. His HINO DO CAIS was released May 2023, and his SELO was released April 2024.

Chrystal E. Williams has a voice “of rare power and clarity” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). She has recently performed with the English National Opera, Opera North UK, the Metropolitan Opera, Birmingham Opera Company UK, Bard SummerScape, Dayton Opera, and On Site Opera. She returns to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Carmen and El Niño this season, and performs The Collector in the world premiere of Song of the Nightingale by Lisa Despain/Melisa Tien with On Site Opera.

Her ingenuity and gifts have been acknowledged by numerous organizations, including the Classical Post, the Musical Fund Society (Career Grant Award 2020), International Opera Awards, and The First Prize and Audience Choice Award winner at the 2014 Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition in Sweden. She founded the Chrystal E. Williams Scholarship, now in its twenty-first year, in 2004 to help students wishing to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Learn more at: https://chrystalewilliams.com/forropera/