Kelsey Lauritano is an American mezzo-soprano of Japanese heritage, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, celebrated for her dynamic and compelling vocal presence. Praised by The New York Times for the “warmth” and “heroism” of her voice, Opera News for her “wondrous power” and “remarkable beauty of tone,” and The Boston Globe for her “rippling wine-dark voice with a low range of staggering strength,” she has quickly earned international attention as a distinguished artist in both operatic and concert repertoire.

Currently an ensemble member of Oper Frankfurt, Kelsey’s 2024/25 season features major role debuts as Rosmira in Händel’s Partenope (dir. Julia Burbach, cond. George Petrou) and Claudia in Dittersdorf’s Doktor und Apotheker (dir. Ute M. Engelhardt, conds. Alden Gatt and Lukas Rommelspacher). She also reprises two signature roles: Lichas in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed Hercules (cond. Lawrence Cummings) and Cherubino in Tilmann Köhler’s Le Nozze di Figaro (cond. Alden Gatt).

Earlier this season, Kelsey jumped in on short notice as Un Musico in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut at Zürich Opera, conducted by Marco Armiliato, and she will appear in the same role at Bayerische Staatsoper in April 2025, also under Armiliato’s baton.

Additional highlights include New Year’s Gala concerts at Staatstheater Meiningen with GMD Killian Farrell, featuring selections from classic MGM musicals such as My Fair Lady and South Pacific. She concludes the season with her U.S. debut as Prince Orlofsky in a new production of Die Fledermaus at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, directed by Shawna Lucey and conducted by George Manahan.

In the previous season, Kelsey captivated audiences with her role debuts at Oper Frankfurt as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (dir. Tilmann Köhler, cond. GMD Thomas Guggeis) and Fragoletto in Offenbach’s rarely performed operetta Die Banditen (Les brigands) (dir. Katharina Thoma, cond. Karsten Januschke). She also appeared in the revival of her role as Emilia in Damiano Michieletto’s production of Rossini’s Otello (cond. Sesto Quatrini) and performed as Alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle at the Edinburgh International Festival, led by renowned pianist James Baillieu.

Additional highlights at Oper Frankfurt include important debuts as Dorabella in Christof Loy’s celebrated production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte (cond. Takeshi Moriuchi), The Fox in Ute Engelhardt’s award-winning staging of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen (cond. Jonathan Stockhammer), Paolo in Hans Walter Richter’s new production of Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini (cond. Ramón Tebar), and Suzuki in R.B. Schlather’s new production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (cond. Antonello Manacorda). She also garnered acclaim as the Mezzo-soprano soloist in Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, a fully staged Tchaikovsky Liederabend directed by Christof Loy (released on DVD by Unitel and Hessischer Rundfunk).

On the concert stage, Kelsey has made appearances as the Alto soloist in Bach’s Mass in B minor at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, conducted by Giedrė Šlekytė, and in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Bayerisches Rundfunkorchester, under the baton of Howard Arman (CD: BR-Klassik).

During her time in the Opernstudio at Oper Frankfurt, Kelsey debuted as Emilia in Rossini’s Otello (dir. Damiano Michieletto), Giovanna in Verdi’s Rigoletto, the Third Wood Nymph in Dvořák’s Rusalka, Enrichetta di Francia in Bellini’s I Puritani, and Eine Spanierin in Schreker’s Der ferne Klang (CD: Oehms Classic).

Beyond Frankfurt, Kelsey has also graced stages with The Oregon Symphony, Boston Early Music Festival, The New World Symphony, Music Academy of the West, New York Song Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, Nürnberger Symphoniker, Tiroler Festspiele Erl and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Kelsey holds both a Master of Music and a Bachelor of Music from The Juilliard School, where she was awarded the Peter Mennin Prize for outstanding achievement and leadership in music. Her accolades include the 2024 Eva Kleinitz award at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino (CLIP), first prize at the 2018 Marilyn Horne Song Competition, and honors from the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition, and the Gerda Lissner/Liederkrantz Song Competition. In 2012, she was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts by President Barack Obama.

Updated April 2025. This biography should not be edited without permission.