Soprano Nadine Sierra will trade grand opera houses for Park Avenue Armory’s intimate Board of Officers Room with a pair of recitals February 16 and 18. The performances, which will feature works by such composers as Schumann, Strauss, and Barber as well as Spanish and Brazilian artists, are the latest in the Upper East Side venue’s 2018 Recital Series.

As part of her program, Sierra will sing Leonard Bernstein’s “A Julia de Burgos,” commemorating the centennial celebration of the composer and conductor. The piece, from Bernstein’s Songfest, musicalizes the work of the famed Puerto Rican poet and civil rights activist and will be featured on Sierra's forthcoming debut album.

“With every recital I do, I always try to incorporate Portuguese, Brazilian, or Spanish songs in order to share a bit of my heritage and personal story with the audience,” Sierra tells Playbill. “’A Julia de Burgos’ has become one of my new favorites…it’s also a piece that’s not done very often, so what better way to celebrate the brilliance of Maestro Bernstein through his exceptional and ever-delightful compositional take on Latin music.”

Sierra made her Met debut in 2015 as Gilda in Rigoletto (a role she'll reprise in the upcoming 2018–2019 season). She recently sang the roles of Susanna and Ilia in the Met’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Idomeneo, respectively, and has performed in opera houses around the world, including Paris Opera, La Scala, and Berlin State Opera. Last year, she was named winner of the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Award.

Additionally, the Armory will also offer a symposium titled Looking Back, Looking Forward February 17. The day-long event explores the turbulence of America in 1968, including the signing of the Civil Rights Act and assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, through presentations, performances, and discussions.

The Recital Series lineup will continue with a recital from participants of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, the New York recital debut of pianist Severin von Eckardstein, and a program of Mahler and Duparc works from Thomas Oliemans.

For more information on both the Recital Series and Looking Back, Looking Forward, visit ArmoryOnPark.org.