Bio
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.
An alumna of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center. Felty received attention from the Chicago Tribune for her “clarion tone” and “compelling acting” in her mainstage debut as Laura in Verdi’s Luisa Miller in 2019. She went on to perform alongside Sondra Radvanovsky in Lyric’s production of The Three Queens, which was released as an album in 2022. In Lyric Opera of Chicago's 2021/2022 season Felty performed the role of Third Lady in Barrie Kosky’s production of Mozart’s Magic Flute, Carmen and Third Lady in The Magic Victrola, covered the role of Paula in Florencia en el Amazonas, and appeared in concert for Sunday in the Park with Lyric's Rising Stars, Rising Stars in Concert, and as the alto soloist for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony alongside Matthew Polenzani and Eric Owens, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. In 2022 Felty was again a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and awarded Second Place in the American International Czech and Slavic Vocal Competition. She made her Des Moines Metro Opera debut as Third Lady in The Magic Flute and returned to the Santa Fe Opera to sing the role of Mercédès in Carmen in their 2022 season. In the fall, she returned to UNCSA to sing the role of Storgé in Handel’s Jephtha and made her debut with the Santa Fe Symphony on Christmas Eve for their concert, A Night at the Opera.
Her other notable performances in Chicago include Lyric’s Rising Stars in Concert (2020, 2021), Sole e Amore, Magic Music Around the World, Twilight Gods, the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series, and multiple recitals for Chicago’s WFMT Classical Radio. Felty is a former apprentice artist of the Santa Fe Opera, where she received the Katharine Mayer Award and covered Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos. She has also participated in Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute Program for Singers and, more recently, the Solti Accademia di Bel Canto fellowship program in Italy. Felty made her North Carolina Opera concert debut as Clotilde in Norma and her Dayton Opera debut in the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto.
Kathleen Felty holds Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration (Marketing) and Music (Vocal Performance) from Texas Tech University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the AJ Fletcher Opera Institute at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Her Fletcher performances include Charlotte in Werther, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Unulfo in Rodelinda, Miss Jessell in Turn of the Screw, Geneviève in Impressions de Pelléas, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Paula in Florencia en el Amazonas. Felty is a six-time District Winner and two-time regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition, a winner of the Charlotte Opera Guild Vocal Competition and the Heafner Williams Vocal Competition.
