Quinn Kelsey, baritone, and Craig Ketter, piano

A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Quinn Kelsey has risen to prominence for his interpretations of opera’s most demanding roles, and has been called “the premier Verdi baritone of his generation” (Bachtrack).

In the 2024/25 season, Kelsey returns to The Metropolitan Opera in three roles: the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto, the villainous Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca, and Amonasro in Michael Mayer’s new production of Verdi’s Aida. Both Tosca and Aida will be performed as part of The Met: Live in HD series. He was seen as Filippo Visconti in Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda at Opéra National de Paris, and he joins Opernhaus Zürich as Rigoletto, a role he will also sing for LA Opera. Later this year, he travels to Japan for Germont in Verdi’s La traviata with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy. Future projects include returns to The Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera and Ballet, Canadian Opera Company, and a debut with the Royal Danish Opera.

Central to Kelsey’s artistic identity is his portrayal of the title role in Rigoletto, igniting praise from critics and audiences alike. “Kelsey gives Rigoletto immense presence even before he opens his mouth,” said Justin Davidson of Vulture. “When he does, out comes a richly human creature, sincere in his love, fiery in his resentment, implacable in his rage … Kelsey’s musical sophistication — the way he booms without bellowing, gives buoyancy to a legato phrase, finds his way into the conductor’s plastic beat — is what separates a tragic figure from a pathetic one.” He has performed this signature role on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including The Metropolitan Opera, in a performance that appeared as part of The Met: Live in HD series, Opéra National de Paris, Opernhaus Zürich, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and many others. Kelsey’s lauded interpretation is preserved on the 2022 Apple Music-exclusive live recording of Rigoletto.

Kelsey’s mastery of Verdi’s baritone roles extends far beyond Rigoletto; he has contributed his artistry to the title roles in Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, and Falstaff, as well as Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Il Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, Amonasro in Aida, Germont in La traviata, Don Carlo in Ernani, and Guido di Monforte in Verdi’s I vespri Siciliani. While Verdi forms the cornerstone of Kelsey’s artistry, his versatility as a performer is evident in his ability to shine in other repertoire. He has achieved great success in a number of career-defining roles, including his richly-sung Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème and darkly compelling interpretation of Scarpia in Tosca, praised by Bachtrack as “the ‘Italian’ baritone we’ve been looking for, with a big, resonant sound and a wonderful, dramatic snarl that never stretches or distorts the vocal line.”

Kelsey’s artistry has earned him numerous accolades, including The Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award in 2015 and the prestigious Opera News Award in 2022. He was a finalist of the Operalia Competition in 2004, and represented the United States in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2005.

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Critically acclaimed for “transporting the listeners to extraordinary heights” and “into a world beyond time and space,” pianist Craig Ketter is known for playing with powerhouse sonority combined with long-lined, dulcet lyricism.

Mr. Ketter has performed as soloist with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Sacramento Philharmonic, the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the Mobile Symphony, the Raleigh Symphony, the Garden State Philharmonic, the Durham Symphony, the Rocky Ridge Music Festival Orchestra, and the American Festival for the Arts Orchestra. His solo concerts have taken him to Mexico, Argentina, Barbados, France, Germany, Japan, and across the United States and Canada.

Mr. Ketter regularly joins forces with international singers and chamber groups. Venues include NPR’s Performance Today series, CBS Sunday Morning, Sirius Satellite Radio, Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, La Huaca de Atlapa in Panama City, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Savannah Music Festival, Bay Chamber Concerts in Rockport, Maine, “Music in the Mountains” in Colorado, and The Marilyn Horne Foundation. Musicians he has collaborated with include flutists Eugenia Zukerman and Carol Wincenc, clarinetists Stephen Williamson, Ricardo Morales, and Jon Manasse, cellists Robert deMaine and Eric Bartlett, violinists Kelly Hall-Tompkins, Roy Malan, and Paul Huang, and singers Renee Fleming, Deborah Voigt, Christine Goerke, Samuel Ramey, Paul Plishka, Nathan Gunn, Ben Heppner, Cliff Forbis, Francisco Casanova, and Robert White. He has also performed with the esteemed actress Claire Bloom.

Craig Ketter began piano studies at the age of seven, giving his first solo recital at the age of ten. He has won top prizes in numerous competitions including the Young Keyboard Artists Association International Piano Competition, the North Carolina Symphony Young Artists Competition, and the Kingsville International Piano Competition. He later won first prizes in the Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, the Richardson Awards National Piano Competition, and the South Orange Symphony of New Jersey Young Artists Competition. He was also awarded the Saunderson Award at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition in Los Angeles, California with the Meliora Winds.

Craig Ketter received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Nelita True and Barry Snyder, where he also taught as Mr. Snyder’s assistant. He continued post-graduate studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky and John Perry. Complementing his performing with teaching, Mr. Ketter has presented master classes throughout the United States and Argentina. He has been a faculty member of the Rocky Ridge Music Festival in Colorado and has served as Chair of the Piano Faculty at the American Festival for the Arts in Houston, Texas. He is currently on the faculty of New Jersey City University.