Claire Hafner's opera career has spanned several decades as well as continents. From Italy to Denmark, to North America and Africa, she has spent the bulk of her career delighting audiences with her original takes of the classics. After years of performing baroque operas in New York City with the Dramma per Musica, she decided to expand her repertoire and try her hand at directing. After three successful seasons in New York City, she founded her own opera company in Ottawa, Heavyweight Productions, where she both sang and directed two fully staged Mozart operas. 2019 saw her debut at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. 

An American by birth, Claire's true passion lies in the study and performance of Black American Opera. She has dedicated much of her music career to educating and performing this little known genre at festivals and concerts throughout Europe and the Americas. In 2012, she produced and performed in the Canadian debut of William Grant Still's "Troubled Island" and has continued to perform his, and the works of others, throughout Canada. Upcoming performances include a December concert in Berlin.

Claire's other passion project is to combine her career as a professional boxer with her opera career. Performing traditional operas with updated storylines while remaining true to the music has opened many opportunities to delight regular opera goers and attract new viewers to the genre. As the #2 ranked light heavyweight in the world and having fought for the WBO world title, Claire has made it her mission to bring the same excitement and packed audiences that she experiences in boxing to the opera world. She has even sung the Canadian anthem in the ring before her own fights much to the excitement of the audience. Her hope for 2024 is to perform a fully staged opera in which a professional boxing match takes place, appealing to both the artist and the sports enthusiast.