Kelsey Lauritano is an American mezzo-soprano of Japanese heritage from the San Francisco Bay Area. Acclaimed by The New York Times as “astounding” and for the "warmth" and "heroism" of her voice, Frankfurter Rundschau as “fabulously profound” and Bachtrack as “definitely a singer to watch”, she is quickly gaining international recognition across both operatic and concert stages.
A current ensemble member at Oper Frankfurt, Kelsey's 2026/27 season includes a return to the Frankfurt stage as Dorabella in a revival of Mozart's Così fan tutte, alongside role debuts as Teodata in Frankfurt's first-ever production of Händel's Flavio and as Nicoletta in a new production of Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. She also makes her role and house debut at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels as Comrade Chin/Shu Fung in the European premiere of Huang Ruo's M. Butterfly. On the concert stage, Kelsey appears in a benefit chamber event featuring works by Mahler and Brahms at Oper Frankfurt; performs music by Britten in Milan and Turin with pianist Brian Zeger and tenor Matthew Swensen for the MITO SettembreMusica international festival; and presents a mainstage Liederabend entitled “Awakenings” at Oper Frankfurt with pianist Alden Gatt, featuring selections by Purcell, Britten, Harbison, Schubert, Brahms, and more.
In the 2025/26 season, Kelsey sang on the Frankfurt stage as Dorabella in a new production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, as Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and made role debuts as Mercédès in Barrie Kosky's legendary production of Bizet's Carmen and Hannah in Weinberg's Die Passagierin. Kelsey then returned to New York City to debut as Erika in Barber's Vanessa with Heartbeat Opera (in collaboration with Williamstown Theatre Festival) in their highly celebrated production directed by R.B. Schlather, which subsequently landed on the New York Times “Best Classical Music and Opera of 2026, so far” list. To conclude the season, she joined the Meininger Hofkapelle for summer concerts of American Songbook repertoire under the direction of GMD Killian Farrell.
In the 2024/25 season, Kelsey made role debuts at Oper Frankfurt as Rosmira in Händel's Partenope, and Claudia in Dittersdorf's Doktor und Apotheker. She also reprised two signature roles: Lichas in Barrie Kosky's production of Händel's Hercules and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. Outside of Frankfurt, she debuted at Zürich Opera and at the 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, in which Broadway World said she “nearly steals the show”.
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Additional Frankfurt highlights include her debuts as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Fragoletto in Offenbach's Die Banditen, Emilia in Rossini's Otello, The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen, Paolo in Francesca da Rimini, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. 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 Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle at the Edinburgh International Festival, in Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Bayerisches Rundfunkorchester (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, Kelsey has previously appeared with The Oregon Symphony, Boston Early Music Festival, The New World Symphony, Music Academy of the West, New York Festival of Song, 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/Liederkranz Song Competition. In 2012, she was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts by President Barack Obama.
UPDATED JUNE 2026. THIS BIOGRAPHY SHOULD NOT BE EDITED WITHOUT PERMISSION.
Kelsey Lauritano is an American mezzo-soprano of Japanese heritage from the San Francisco Bay Area. Acclaimed by The New York Times as “astounding” and for the "warmth" and "heroism" of her voice, Frankfurter Rundschau as “fabulously profound” and Bachtrack as “definitely a singer to watch”, she is quickly gaining international recognition across both operatic and concert stages.
A current ensemble member at Oper Frankfurt, Kelsey's 2026/27 season includes a return to the Frankfurt stage as Dorabella in a revival of Mozart's Così fan tutte, alongside role debuts as Teodata in Frankfurt's first-ever production of Händel's Flavio and as Nicoletta in a new production of Prokofiev's The Love for Three Oranges. She also makes her role and house debut at La Monnaie/De Munt in Brussels as Comrade Chin/Shu Fung in the European premiere of Huang Ruo's M. Butterfly. On the concert stage, Kelsey appears in a benefit chamber event featuring works by Mahler and Brahms at Oper Frankfurt; performs music by Britten in Milan and Turin with pianist Brian Zeger and tenor Matthew Swensen for the MITO SettembreMusica international festival; and presents a mainstage Liederabend entitled “Awakenings” at Oper Frankfurt with pianist Alden Gatt, featuring selections by Purcell, Britten, Harbison, Schubert, Brahms, and more.
In the 2025/26 season, Kelsey sang on the Frankfurt stage as Dorabella in a new production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, as Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and made role debuts as Mercédès in Barrie Kosky's legendary production of Bizet's Carmen and Hannah in Weinberg's Die Passagierin. Kelsey then returned to New York City to debut as Erika in Barber's Vanessa with Heartbeat Opera (in collaboration with Williamstown Theatre Festival) in their highly celebrated production directed by R.B. Schlather, which subsequently landed on the New York Times “Best Classical Music and Opera of 2026, so far” list. To conclude the season, she joined the Meininger Hofkapelle for summer concerts of American Songbook repertoire under the direction of GMD Killian Farrell.
In the 2024/25 season, Kelsey made role debuts at Oper Frankfurt as Rosmira in Händel's Partenope, and Claudia in Dittersdorf's Doktor und Apotheker. She also reprised two signature roles: Lichas in Barrie Kosky's production of Händel's Hercules and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. Outside of Frankfurt, she debuted at Zürich Opera and at the 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, in which Broadway World said she “nearly steals the show”.
-
Additional Frankfurt highlights include her debuts as Cherubino in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Fragoletto in Offenbach's Die Banditen, Emilia in Rossini's Otello, The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen, Paolo in Francesca da Rimini, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. 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 Rossini's Petite Messe solennelle at the Edinburgh International Festival, in Bach's Mass in B Minor at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and in Mendelssohn's Elijah with the Bayerisches Rundfunkorchester (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, Kelsey has previously appeared with The Oregon Symphony, Boston Early Music Festival, The New World Symphony, Music Academy of the West, New York Festival of Song, 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/Liederkranz Song Competition. In 2012, she was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts by President Barack Obama.
UPDATED JUNE 2026. THIS BIOGRAPHY SHOULD NOT BE EDITED WITHOUT PERMISSION.