Chrystallia Spileou and Michael Karl Headline 'Wine and Opera' at 89 Reade

Soprano Chrystallia Spileou and tenor Michael Karl will headline "Wine and Opera" at 89 Reade on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.

The evening pairs opera arias with wine tastings, and pianist William Hobbs completes the lineup. Spileou brings a second credential to the format: she is a wine enthusiast, and the event, as its organizers frame it, joins her two interests on one program.

The announcement is spare. It names the artists, the venue and the date. It does not specify the arias on the program, the wines to be poured, the start time or ticket prices. Those details, presumably, will follow closer to the date — a caveat worth holding onto before booking travel around it.

What does this change for the 89 Reade series?

Not the format, but the casting pattern. "Wine and Opera" extends a series that has already booked a notable run of singers. Past headliners include:

• Samantha Hankey
• Jasmine Rice LaBeija
• Leah Hawkins
• Hera Hyesang Park
• Gabriella Reyes
• Ben Bliss

That list spans established Metropolitan Opera-level voices alongside artists from cabaret and drag traditions, which signals deliberate variety rather than a single programming lane. Spileou and Karl fit the operatic end of that spectrum.

Why the pairing works

The conceit is simple: Spileou is, per the announcement, a wine enthusiast, and the evening pairs that interest with her repertoire. Whether the wine selections will be curated to match the music — the announcement does not say — remains to be seen. The stronger claim a skeptic can make is structural: 89 Reade keeps staging intimate, single-evening events with named singers and a pianist, and audiences keep showing up for them.

What it changes for New York's opera audience is modest but real: one more chance on Oct. 22, 2026, to hear Spileou and Karl with Hobbs at the piano in a room small enough to suit the format.