Michael Kelly
baritone
With two decades of distinguished international experience on the opera, symphonic, and recital stages, American baritone, librettist and poet Michael Kelly has earned widespread acclaim as a “mesmerizing” and “vocally splendid” performer. His expansive repertoire spans from Baroque masterworks to the forefront of contemporary music. Internationally, Mr. Kelly made his European debut at Opernhaus Zürich in Handel’s Rinaldo under the direction of William Christie. His performing career has brought him to premier venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, David Geffen Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Wigmore Hall, the Santa Fe Opera, and Théâtre du Châtelet, alongside frequent guest soloist appearances with major symphony orchestras across North America.
A versatile and expressive vocal artist, Mr. Kelly has performed under the baton of esteemed conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Christie, Andreas Delfs, Jane Glover, Louis Langrée, James Levine, Anne Manson, Nicholas McGegan, Steven Osgood, Leonard Slatkin, and Stephen Stubbs. On the recital stage, he has collaborated with premier pianists including Malcolm Martineau, Bradley Moore, Adam Tendler, and Brian Zeger, creating compelling art song programs that highlight his dramatic range, vocal warmth, and linguistic agility.
A passionate champion of contemporary classical music, Mr. Kelly is particularly renowned for his extensive work with living composers. He has brought to life new works, song cycles, and operatic roles created in direct partnership with many of today's most celebrated creators, including Matthew Aucoin, Victoria Bond, Tom Cipullo, David Del Tredici, Mohammed Fairouz, John Glover, Ricky Ian Gordon, Martin Hennessy, Laura Kaminsky, Lowell Liebermann, David T. Little, Ben Moore, David Sisco, Kamala Sankaram, Matthew Ricketts, Tobias Picker, and David Wolfson.
In addition to his active performing schedule, Mr. Kelly’s artistic leadership includes co-founding and serving as Artistic Director for SongFusion, a New York-based performance ensemble dedicated to multidisciplinary song programming, as well as curating the digital concert series Room | to | Breathe. He also serves as the curator for the baritone volume of NewMusicShelf’s Anthology of New Music, advocating for new art song literature. His creative and performance output is documented across nine commercially released recordings.
A passionate advocate for LGBTQ+ visibility in the classical arts, Kelly contributes to contemporary vocal literature as a writer and librettist, He has collaborated with the some of today’s most exciting composers, such as John Glover, Ben Moore, Matthew Ricketts, Kamala Sankaram, and David Sisco, with upcoming projects on the horizon in collaboration with Laura Kaminsky and Tobias Picker. Michael also shares his stage expertise through select vocal technique, career, and compositional mentorship. He is the winner of the 2011 Joy In Singing Competition and is the recipient of the Pierre Bernac Prize. He completed his formal musical training at the Eastman School of Music and The Juilliard School.