Many Chicago music lovers will remember their first encounter with Janai Brugger. This writer’s was in 2006 when the young soprano, an area native, made her professional debut at Chicago Opera Theater as a member of the young artist program. She sang the tiny role of the First Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. When Brugger stepped forward to deliver her few phrases, there was a palpable energy in the house. Her sound was extraordinary; round and supple, with an ethereal quality that instantly commanded the space. It was one of those rare moments when an emerging artist leaves the listener thinking “That’s the one. That singer is going places.”