Bio
Praised for her “powerful, rich, nuanced” voice and “emotionally moving” performances, American mezzo-soprano Kathleen Felty is a versatile artist whose operatic, concert, and song repertoire encompass the baroque to the modern. She was lauded for her “contralto-like depth, great flexibility, and expressive sensitivity” (Chicago Classical Review) in her 2024 debut as Andronico in Handel’s “Tamerlano” with Haymarket Opera Chicago and has added a number of performances of Handel’s works in recent seasons, including Athamas in “Semele” with Wolf Trap Opera, Storace in “Jephtha”, and the alto soloist in “Messiah” with the Santa Fe Symphony, Camerata Chicago, and the Idaho Falls Symphony. In 2024, Felty performed the title role in “Emily”, a staged concert featuring the poetry of Emily Dickinson set to music by Aaron Copeland and Ricky Ian Gordon, at Wolf Trap Opera. She was then featured as a soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Chicago Bach Week Festival. Recognized for her “mastery of bel canto”, Felty was invited to participate as a resident artist with Le Fondation des Treilles Academie de la Voix in October 2024, featuring music of the bel canto tradition in concert.
An alumna of the Ryan Opera Center, Felty returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2023 for Wagner’s "The Flying Dutchman" as the understudy for Mary and 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 Siebel in John Luther Adams’ "Night". 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 and went on to perform alongside Sondra Radvanovsky in Lyric’s production of "The Three Queens", which were later both released as albums. 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. Her other notable performances in Chicago include Lyric’s "Rising Stars in Concert" (2020, 2021), "Sole e Amore", "Magic Music Around the World", "Wagner: Twilight Gods", the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series, and multiple recitals for Chicago’s WFMT Classical Radio.
In 2022, Felty returned to the Santa Fe Opera to sing the role of Mercédès in "Carmen". A former apprentice artist, she received the Katharine Mayer Award for her outstanding achievement and covered Komponist in "Ariadne auf Naxos". During her time as an apprentice, she was featured in scenes from "Der Rosenkavalier", "Arabella", and "Eugene Onegin" and joined the Wagner Society of Santa Fe in concert, performing Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder. She made her debut with the Santa Fe Symphony on Christmas Eve 2022 for their concert, "A Night at the Opera". A native of Lubbock, Texas, she returned to her hometown in 2023 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 Orchestra. In the summer she joined Wolf Trap Opera as Athamas in Handel’s "Semele" and Marthe Schwerlein in Gounod’s "Faust" and was featured in the Salon Recital Series.
She made her Des Moines Metro Opera debut as Third Lady in "The Magic Flute".
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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 "The 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". 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".
Felty is a six-time District Winner and two-time Regional Winner of the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont Competition, a winner of the American International Czech and Slavic Vocal Competition, Charlotte Opera Guild Vocal Competition the Heafner Williams Vocal Competition, and was also awarded first prize for the Fielder Grant for Career Advancement.
