Patricia Racette

Soprano

Soprano Patricia Racette continues to set the standard in works both classic and new.

Ms. Racette maintains strong relationships with the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera (where she is an alumna of the Merola Opera Program and a former Adler Fellow), Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Santa Fe Opera. Seen regularly at these houses, her many roles have included the title roles in Jenufa, Luisa Miller, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, and Kátya KabanováIl Trittico, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites, Mimi and Musetta in La Bohème, Nedda in Pagliacci, Marguerite in Faust, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Elisabetta in Don Carlos, Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes, Alice in Falstaff, Mathilde in Guillaume Tell, and Margherita in Boito’s Mefistofele.

Ms. Racette has also appeared at the Royal Opera House, the English National Opera, Opera National de Paris, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Opera di Genova, Bayerische Staatsoper, Vienna State Opera, Welsh National Opera, and the Saito Kinen Festival.

Her most recent performances of Madama Butterfly and Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera were seen in HD in movie theatres across the world, with the broadcast of Madama Butterfly being one of the most successful broadcasts in the history of the Metropolitan Opera’s The Met: Live in HD series.

A supporter of new works by today’s leading composers, Ms. Racette most recently created the role of Leslie Crosbie in the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s The Letter at the Santa Fe Opera. Other world premieres have included the role of Roberta Alden in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera, the title role in Tobias Picker’s Emmeline at the Santa Fe Opera (subsequently broadcast on PBS’ Great Performances), and the role of Love Simpson in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree at the Houston Grand Opera.

On the concert platform, Ms Racette has appeared with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Dusseldorfer Philharmoniker, and the Cologne Philharmonic. She also recorded Zemlinsky’s Der Traumgorge with James Conlon and the Cologne Philharmonic.

This season, Ms. Racette returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Opera Australia and the Royal Opera House as the title role in Madama Butterfly, the Los Angeles Opera as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, and the Washington National Opera as the title role in Iphigénie en Tauride.

Born and raised in New Hampshire, Ms. Racette studied jazz and music education at North Texas State University. She is winner of the prestigious 1998 Richard Tucker award.