Rachel Kelly

Mezzo-soprano

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“Kelly’s vocal agility and bright, well-centred tone enabled her to create a thrilling portrayal.”
(Opera Magazine, July 2016)

Rachel Kelly is a recent graduate of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden’s Jette Parker Young Artist Programme where she attracted considerable attention for her portrayals of Zaida (Il turco in Italia) conducted by Evelino Pidò, Javotte (Manon) conducted by Emmanuel Villaume, Mercédès (Carmen) conducted by Alexander Joel, and Pisana (I due Foscari) conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. Her performance as Mirinda in Kasper Holten’s L’Ormindo conducted by Christian Curnyn (which marked the first ever collaboration between the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe) was singled out by Opera Today for its “rich sensuality of voice” and “glowing warmth”, her appearance as the Cat in El gato con botas (Puss in Boots) at the Linbury Theatre was described by The Telegraph as “a special delight”and she earned unanimous praise for her Proserpina (Orfeo) at London’s Roundhouse.

During the current season Rachel Kelly appears as Virtue (The Choice of Hercules) at the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen under Laurence Cummings, she makes her company debut with Nationale Reisopera as Medarse (Siroe), and she joins the Glyndebourne tour as Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte). Rachel makes a role debut as Marguerite (La damnation de Faust) as part of the Leeds International Concert Season, and she makes her German operatic debut as Annio (La clemenza di Tito) at Staatstheater Karlsruhe.

Gallery

Strauss: Sein Wir Wieder Gut © Rachel Kelly

Rossini: Non più mesta (La Cenerentola) © ROH

Mozart: La clemenza di Tito - Parto, Parto © Rachel Kelly

“Rachel Kelly’s sparky Sesto”

(Hugh Canning, Opera Magazine, June 2018)

“Rachel Kelly in the role of Isabella was absolutely perfect. She has it all; good looks, intelligent acting, a solid vocal technique and a memorable voice…Kelly’s voice has an impressively broad range and she not only moves effortless from the high pitches to the lowest notes, but she – rather unusually – seemed to deliver her best in both of those extremes; her top notes did not lose, but amplify, her voice’s velvety quality, while you were left to admire the depth of her lower notes, especially surprising at her young age and within such a slender frame.”

(Bachtrack, June 2018)

“Rachel Kelly makes light work of the coloratura in her debut in the title role.”

(Irish Examiner, June 2018)

“the tender, light-voiced Rachel Kelly as the object of [Faust’s] lust, Marguerite…Kelly charmed and touched in her two big solos”

(Hugh Canning, The Times, May 2018)

“Siroe’s brother Medarse was performed by Rachel Kelly, who has a mature, beautifully polished mezzo.”

(Opera Gazet, January 2018)

“For the role of Siroe’s brother Medarse, they engaged the Irish mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly. She sang the beautiful lines of her role with a full, smooth tone”

(Opera Magazine NL, January 2018)

“Rachel Kelly’s bright, wide-eyed Dorabella…Kelly’s winningly sly Dorabella — vocally reminiscent of Ann Murray’s — was the perfect foil”

(Hugh Canning, Opera Magazine, December 2017)

“As Dorabella, Irish mezzo Rachel Kelly glowed with a warmth expressive of the younger sister’s impulsive, passionate nature. The full, rich tone of her Act 2 confession of indiscretion, ‘È amore un ladroncello’ (Love is a little thief), was winningly honest.”

(Opera Today, November 2017)

“the mezzo Rachel Kelly was a marvellously vengeful Sesto (Giulio Cesare).”

(Opera Magazine, November 2017)

“Rachel Kelly sang a delicious Dorabella, radiating honeyed warmth”

(Bachtrack, October 2017)

“But then there’s Rachel Kelly, who plays her sister Dorabella with irresistible charm and openness, singing beautifully”

(The Guardian, October 2017)

“Rachel Kelly was a vibrant Giunone. Entering midway through Act 2, she immediately made her vengeful presence felt, her mezzo glinting darkly with outraged dignity as she transformed Calisto into a bear.”

(Opera Magazine, February 2017)

“Rachel Kelly channels Donna Elvira’s anxious vulnerability through her sensitive mezzo-soprano.”

(Guardian, George Hall, November 2016)

“Rachel Kelly as Donna Elvira furiously charges across the stage, her bright and agile mezzo-soprano effectively conveying both drama and private pain. Her rendition of Elvira’s lovesick solo was touching”

(Bachtrack, November 2016)

“her way of tempering her clear, high mezzo with subtle vocal shading – for example, when launching the quartet ‘Andrò ramingo e solo’ with heroic determination tapering off to youthful uncertainty – was highly imaginative.”

(Opera Magazine, December 2016)

“Rachel Kelly as a flirtatious Nancy”

(Opera magazine, October 2016)

“There’s a bright, focused depth to Rachel Kelly’s mezzo – splendidly demonstrated in Classical Opera’s superbly-cast performance earlier this season of Jommelli’s Il Vologeso – which suggests boundless reserves, and she lent emotion weight to Semiramide’s charming pastorale.”

(Arts Desk, September 2016)

“mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly, whose Idamante was consistently sharply focused.”

(Irish Times, August 2016)

“Ilia and Rachel Kelly as Idamante were expressive, evenly matched voices that produced some of the finest duets of the evening.”

(Irish Examiner, August 2016)

“The mezzo-soprano Rachel Kelly, as the eponymous hero, was the only one of the soloists not relying on the score, and her first bravura aria was spirited and exciting. Kelly’s vocal agility and bright, well-centred tone enabled her to create a thrilling portrayal.”

(Opera Magazine, July 2016)

“Rachel Kelly, a total natural with a vibrant mezzo voice seemingly flawless throughout the range…Kelly made her urgency felt, persuading us with natural body language as well as focused urgency that the recitatives are as crucial a part of the drama as the arias and finales.”

(Arts Desk, May 2016)

“Her bravura aria “Invan Minacci” displayed an heroic, bright upper register and agile runs, while her long crescendo on the first syllable of “lasciami” in “Cara, deh serbami” gradually bled warmth into her voice – a nuanced, dramatic portrayal.”

(Bachtrack, May 2016)

“Rachel Kelly, who has the most lyrical music in the piece, is both an affecting stage presence and technically excellent”

(Seen & Heard, February 2016)