A highly respected pianist, conductor, and coach internationally, Kathleen Kelly began her career at San Francisco Opera before beginning a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. Following tenures as Head of Music at Houston Grand Opera and Music Director of Berkshire Opera, she was appointed Director of Musical Studies at the Vienna State Opera, the first woman and first American in that position. Since returning to the U.S. in 2015, Kelly has conducted at the Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Arizona Opera, El Paso Opera, Opera Columbus, Merola Opera Program, and Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. She has also been a regular visiting coach for the prestigious young-artist programs of Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company. Kelly has collaborated for recitals with many renowned artists, such as Christine Goerke, Albina Shagiumuratova, Joyce DiDonato, and Susan Graham. She has also curated art-song series for Houston Grand Opera and the Vienna State Opera and is currently involved in the creation of new song through Sparks and Wiry Cries’ songSLAM events. Kelly has given masterclasses and workshops across North America. A published poet and essayist, she has also created several new opera translations and libretti. Her English adaptation of Hansel and Gretel, commissioned by Tri-Cities Opera, is now in use alongside her chamber-orchestra arrangement of the work. For Arizona Opera, she created a multilingual version of Emmerich Kálmán’s Arizona Lady, and she also wrote the libretto for Wolf Trap Opera’s world premiere of Listen, Wilhelmina!, a children’s opera with music by David Hanlon.
