Kelsey Lauritano is an American mezzo-soprano of Japanese heritage from the San Francisco Bay Area, praised for her dynamic stage presence and vocal richness. Acclaimed by The New York Times for the “warmth” and “heroism” of her voice, Opera News for its “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 is gaining international recognition across both operatic and concert stages.

A current ensemble member at Oper Frankfurt, Kelsey’s 2024/25 season featured 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 reprised two signature roles: Lichas in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed production of Händel’s Hercules (cond. Lawrence Cummings) and Cherubino in Tilmann Köhler’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro (cond. Alden Gatt). Outside of Frankfurt, Kelsey debuted at Zürich Opera and at Bayerische Staatsoper under the baton of Marco Armiliato as Un Musico in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. Additional highlights included New Year’s Gala concerts at Staatstheater Meiningen with GMD Killian Farrell, featuring selections from classic MGM musicals, and her U.S. operatic debut as Prince Orlofsky in a new production of Die Fledermaus at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (dir. Shawna Lucey, cond. George Manahan).

In 2023/24, Kelsey earned acclaim at Oper Frankfurt with notable debuts as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (cond. GMD Thomas Guggeis) and Fragoletto in Offenbach’s Die Banditen (dir. Katharina Thoma, cond. Karsten Januschke), alongside her return as Emilia in Rossini’s Otello (dir. Damiano Michieletto, cond. Sesto Quatrini). She also appeared as Alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle at the Edinburgh International Festival, led by James Baillieu.

Other Frankfurt highlights include standout performances as Dorabella in Così fan tutte (dir. Christof Loy), The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen (dir. Ute Engelhardt), Paolo in Francesca da Rimini (dir. Hans Walter Richter), and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (dir. R.B. Schlather). She was also featured as the Mezzo-soprano soloist in Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt, a fully staged Tchaikovsky Liederabend directed by Christof Loy (DVD: Unitel/Hessischer Rundfunk).

On the concert stage, Kelsey has appeared as Alto soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl (cond. Giedrė Šlekytė) and in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Bayerisches Rundfunkorchester (cond. Howard Arman, CD: BR-Klassik).

A graduate of the Opernstudio at Oper Frankfurt, her roles there included Emilia in Otello, Giovanna in Rigoletto, the Third Wood Nymph in Rusalka, Enrichetta di Francia in I Puritani, and Eine Spanierin in Der ferne Klang (CD: Oehms Classics).

Beyond Frankfurt, she has appeared 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 and Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she received 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, James Toland Vocal Arts Competition, and Gerda Lissner/Liederkrantz Song Competition. In 2012, she was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts by President Barack Obama.

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