Praised for her “powerful, rich, nuanced” voice and “emotionally moving” performances, American mezzo-soprano Kathleen Felty  returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2023 for the world premiere of a trilogy of new American operas called Proximity where she sang the role of Passenger 4 in Caroline Shaw’s Four Portraits and covered Sibyl in John Luther Adams’ Night.   She then returned to her hometown of Lubbock, TX and alma mater to perform Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and selections from Bizet’s Carmen at the Buddy Holly Center for Performing Arts with the Texas Tech Symphony. In the summer she joined Wolf Trap Opera as Athamas in Handel’s Semele and Marthe in Gounod’s Faust and was featured in the Salon Recital Series.  Felty then opened the 23/24 season at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman as the understudy for Mary.  She closed the year with two productions of Handel’s Messiah as the alto soloist, returning first to the Santa Fe Symphony and then appearing with Camerata Chicago.

 In 2024 Kathleen returns to Wolf Trap Opera to sing title role in "Emily", a theatrical concert based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson.  She then makes her Haymarket Opera debut in Handel's Tamerlano.