Praised as a "divine" mezzo soprano (Palm Beach Post) having a “rich,” and “beautifully emotional” sound (DC Metro Arts), Anna Kelly is an up-and-coming mezzo who was recently named a National Semi-finalist in the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Ms. Kelly comes out of the 2022-2023 season with several accolades, as a finalist with the Giulio Gari competition, a finalist with Opera Florham, the winner of the James Toland Tier 2 competition, and a South Carolina district winner of the 2023 Laffont Competition. In 2022-2023, Ms. Kelly joined Palm Beach Opera in their Apprentice Artist Program covering the roles of Meg Page in Falstaff and Dorabella in Così fan tutte and performing scenes as Cendrillon and Zerlina. In the summer of 2023, Ms. Kelly joined Wolf Trap Opera covering Athamas in Semele and Siébel in Faust. In the upcoming 2023-2024 season, Ms. Kelly returns to Palm Beach Opera as a Young Artist, covering Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Adalgisa in Norma.

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In 2021-2022, Ms. Kelly made her role debut as Ruggiero in Alcina with the Yale Opera Studio, performed with the Yale Philharmonic in their Opera Gala and sang as a soloist in Mozart’s C minor mass with the Yale Conducting program. In the summer of 2022, Ms. Kelly joined the Music Academy of the West as a Studio Artist where she performed in their production of Eugene Onegin.

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No stranger to the concert stage, Ms. Kelly will present a solo recital with the Metropolitan Club in Washington DC this season, and in past seasons has performed opera galas with the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, the Mid-Atlantic Symphony, and the Washington Opera Society.

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The 2020-2021 season included Ms. Kelly performing scenes from the roles of Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Octavian in Der Rosenkavelier, Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, Smeton in Anna Bolena, and Isolier in Le Comte Ory: all with the Yale Opera Studio. Ms. Kelly also performed with New Music New Haven as the the mezzo soloist in the live premiere of David Lang’s let me come in. In the spring of 2020, she was slated to sing scenes as Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Siébel in Faust, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with the Yale Opera Theatre before performances were canceled due to COVID19. 

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Ms. Kelly has trained at esteemed programs including the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists’ Vocal Academy and has been recognized throughout the country from multiple musical organizations and competitions. In addition to her success in the Laffont Competition, Ms. Kelly was a semifinalist in the Opera INDEX competition, won first place in the Junior Young Artist Division of the 2022 Florida Grand Opera/Young Patronesses of the Opera competition and was a Regional Winner and National Semifinalist for the 2021 National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. In prior years, she won vocal competition scholarships from the Presser Foundation for Musical Philanthropy, the National Society for the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Friday Morning Music Club, and the Schmidt Vocal Competition.

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Ms. Kelly holds a BM in Vocal Performance from the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and recently graduated with her MM in Opera from the esteemed Yale School of Music.