Soprano Asmik Grigorian makes Metropolitan Opera debut in Puccini's 'Madame Butterfly'

Asmik Grigorian laughs when she recalls that she had been singing professionally for more than a decade when the International Opera Awards proclaimed her the "best young female singer" of 2016.

"So for 12 years I was nothing, and then I immediately became the best!" the Lithuanian soprano joked in an interview.

Now at the peak of her career and seemingly able to sing just about any role she chooses, from Dvorak’s lyrical "Rusalka" to Puccini’s dramatic "Turandot," Grigorian is about...