{"id":128033,"date":"2026-01-30T14:52:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&p=128033"},"modified":"2026-01-30T14:58:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:58:24","slug":"omar-najmi-opera-grammy-nomination","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2026\/omar-najmi-opera-grammy-nomination\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing a Teenager May Earn This Alum a Grammy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Omar Najmi sings the lead role in the Grammy-nominated\u00a0Adoration.<\/em>\u00a0He also organizes performances with Boston\u2019s Catalyst New Music. Photo by Nile Scott Studios<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPlaying a Teenager May Earn This Alum a Grammy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Omar Najmi sang the lead role in\u00a0Adoration<\/em>, nominated for best opera recording<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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January 30, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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This article was originally published in Bostonia<\/a><\/em> on January 29, 2026. By Joel Brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXCERPT<\/h4>

Omar Najmi had to take a slightly unusual approach to winning the role that earned him a Grammy nomination<\/a> this year. He had to dial back his voice to sound more like a teenager. \u201cI was just like, all right! Here goes nothing!\u201d Najmi (CFA\u201911) says with a laugh. \u201cWe\u2019re just gonna try out some things.\u201d The tenor is nominated as the principal soloist in the Best Opera Recording category for Adoration<\/em>,<\/a> an electroacoustic chamber opera by composer Mary Kouyoumdjian<\/a> and librettist Royce Vavrek<\/a>. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Produced in New York in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects and adapted from the film by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Exotica)<\/em>, it follows a high school student whose fictional story about a terrorist plot goes viral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Washington Post<\/em> praised the production for its \u201cuncanny capture of the information age and its anxieties,\u201d adding, \u201cIt\u2019s an opera that could help shape the future of the form.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Najmi sings the lead character, Simon, a jeans-and-hoodie-clad 17-year-old. When he auditioned,<\/em> he used his regular, full-bodied operatic voice. \u201c<\/em>I don\u2019t remember if it was Beth or Mary, the composer, saying, \u2018Okay, that was beautiful, but this role is a 17-year-old high school student. Can you sing these excerpts in a way that\u2019s younger-sounding and less bel canto [style]?\u2019\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Najmi as Enoch Snow in Carousel<\/em> with the Boston Lyric Opera, 2025. Photo by Nile Scott Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BIGGEST ASSET: BU OPERA INSTITUTE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest asset that the program at BU had for me professionally was the Opera Institute,\u201d Najmi says. \u201cSo I was singing alongside amazing career-ready singers. One of them is now singing leading Wagner roles at Bayreuth. That was a huge influence on me, learning how to sing next to these people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first professional roles came through members of the BU faculty who had positions with the Boston Lyric Opera<\/a> and other companies in the city. They often thought of him when they needed a last-minute tenor replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

read the full story in bostonia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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ABOUT BU OPERA INSTITUTE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Boston University Opera Institute is an intensive, highly selective two-year performance-based training program for emerging operatic artists. Each Institute member receives a full tuition scholarship, and graduates from Boston University College of Fine Arts with a Performance Diploma in Opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through our professional curriculum model, the Opera Institute provides a performance-based curriculum taught by full-time and adjunct faculty members along with guests from the operatic profession.\u00a0The program includes voice lessons, repertoire coaching, Italian Conversation, Acting, Movement (Stage Combat, Ballet, Period Styles, Commedia, Alexander Technique).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

learn more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\t