Laquita MITCHELL

Laquita Mitchell’s “gleaming soprano” (Opera News) consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide, having recently been nominated for a Grammy in the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York. Last season, Ms. Mitchell took the concert stage by storm in Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Dvořák’s Te Deum and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Charleston Symphony Orchestra, and Porgy and Bess with Greenville Symphony Orchestra. She also sang in the world premiere of Nkeiru Okoye’s A Time for Jubilee with the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra, followed by a performance with the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements for the 2026-2027 season include singing as the soprano soloist in “I Hear America Singing” with Albany Pro Musica, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the New York Choral Society, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Duluth Superior Orchestra, and a New Year’s Eve concert with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony. She will also return to Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate with the Omaha Symphony, and sing as Ginny in the world premiere of Hutton/Chilton’s Eliza at the University of South Carolina.

In the 2024-2025 season, Ms. Mitchell made her debut as Aida with Dayton Opera. She also joined the California Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Charleston Symphony for Sanctuary Road, the Bilkent Symphony in Turkey for a New Year’s Eve concert, Cleveland Orchestra in a Tribute to Coretta Scott King, and Austin Symphony to sing Bess in a concert production of Porgy and Bess. She also recently returned to the role of Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with New Orleans Opera and Portland Opera and reprised her lauded performance of Sanctuary Road with Virginia Opera, Princeton Pro Musica, and the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. She also appeared in concert with Saint Thomas Church for Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Chattanooga Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the Cleveland Orchestra for their community chamber concert series, the Waterbury Symphony for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and Bard Summerscape to sing Verveine in Viardot’s chamber opera, Le dernier sorcier. Ms. Mitchell recently reprised Julie in Omar with UNC Chapel Hill at Carolina Performing Arts, a role she created in the world premiere at Spoleto Festival USA, and returned to Josephine Baker in Cipullo’s Josephine with Music of Remembrance. Additional recent engagements include Robinetta in Rachel J. Peters’s Lesson Plan with On Site Opera; the title role in Cipullo’s Josephine with New Orleans Opera and Opera Colorado, alongside The Promise of Living, a concert program conceived by Mitchell; and Bess in Porgy and Bess with Grange Park Opera, Lithuanian State Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony. She has also appeared in New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon concerts and Kaufman Music Center’s Musical Storefront series as part of New York City’s Pop-Up Arts Revival, performed the soprano solo in Classical Tahoe’s Tenth Anniversary opening-night concert, and appeared in Bard Music Festival’s Nadia Boulanger and Her World.

In concert, she has performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Detroit Symphony, Lima Symphony, and Augusta Symphony; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Madison Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and Berkeley Symphony; Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Sarasota Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and Augusta Symphony; Sanctuary Road with Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Chautauqua Symphony, and Columbus Symphony; Verdi’s Requiem with Rhode Island Philharmonic and Buffalo Philharmonic; Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra; and Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with Cincinnati May Festival and the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. Other concert engagements include Brahms’ Requiem and a Bel Canto Gala with Albany Pro Musica; a Holiday Concert with Princeton Symphony; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Missoula Symphony; and appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including its Academy Ball led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She has also performed with Boston Symphony Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, New World Symphony, Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center, and New York Symphonic Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, and appears annually in recital at Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe. Other notable operatic engagements include Micaëla in Carmen with New York City Opera, Opera Pacific, and Cincinnati Opera; Coretta Scott King in I Dream with Opera Grand Rapids, Toledo Opera, and Opera Carolina; Violetta in La traviata with Opera Memphis, New York City Opera, and Edmonton Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera, Portland Opera, and Opera New Jersey; Leonora in Il trovatore in South Carolina and with Nashville Opera; Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Toledo Opera; Sharon in Terrence McNally’s Master Class at The Kennedy Center; Musetta in La bohème with Los Angeles Opera, and Mimì with Cincinnati Opera and Utah Opera. She also appeared in the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Mitchell made her San Francisco Opera debut as Bess in Porgy and Bess, earning praise from Opera News for her “purity of tone and vivid theatrical presence.” She has since sung the role with The Atlanta Opera, The Tanglewood Festival, Madison Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Toledo Opera, Springfield Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, Traverse City Symphony, the Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre in Budapest, and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. PBS also invited Mitchell to perform a solo recital of excerpts from Porgy and Bess with pianist Craig Terry for the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles. Other appearances include Clara in Porgy and Bess with Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Opéra Comique in Paris and on tour in Caen and Granada, Spain.

A native of New York City, Ms. Mitchell was a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner and was awarded a Sara Tucker Award. She was also the First Prize Winner of the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition and the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, as well as the winner of the Audience Choice award. Ms. Mitchell is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, and Wolf Trap Opera. She holds a Master of Music degree and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music and completed undergraduate studies at Westminster Choir College.