Before soprano April Haines joined the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in 1995, she saw the world touring with Porgy and Bess, which returns to the Met stage for the first time in almost 30 years. Besides her intimate knowledge of the show through numerous roles she played over the course of her career, she also experienced the piece on a different level through another important connection: her former teacher, the famous baritone Todd Duncan, who played Porgy in the original 1935 production of Porgy and Bess.

April has been part of the Met for 20 years, after graduating from Morgan State University as a student of Todd Duncan and Barbara Conrad. Her stage legs were acquired internationally with smaller companies in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, England, Denmark, Russia, Slovenia, and the greater United States.