Breanna Sinclairé

[1] In June 2015, she became the first transgender woman to sing the American national anthem at a professional sports event.

It was above all her grandmother who encouraged Sinclairé to sing in the Baptist church choir and take an interest in opera, playing recordings of African American singers including Jessye Norman, Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price.

[1] Sinclairé soon left the school, spending several months in New York City before she finally managed to pursue her singing aspirations after obtaining a scholarship from the California Institute of the Arts.

[1] During her final year, she began her sometimes painful transition but found encouragement by setting her sights on the lead role in Carmen, "that sassy, confident woman".

[2] After studying with Sheri Greenawald at the San Francisco Opera, she began performing repertoire as a lyric soprano.