"the radiant young soprano... floated velvet-gloved high notes"
"Best among the women, however, was newcomer Rachel Blaustein, who made a sensational company debut as Nannetta. The radiant young soprano... floated velvet-gloved high notes in this crucial role. She flirted innocently in the stolen moments with her lover, Fenton, and made a resplendent fairy queen in the opera’s gorgeous final scene."
Washington Classical Review
About Rachel
American Soprano Rachel Blaustein was recently named a Grand Finalist in the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She spent the summer reprising the role of Micól in The Garden of the Finzini-Continis in Florence, Italy. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana and debuted with the Ravinia Festival as Second Spirit in their production of Die Zauberflöte. In the 23/24 season, she looks forward to her debut as Gilda (Rigoletto) with Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore. She appears in concert with Opera Omaha, in recital with Academy Art Museum, and as the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah with Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. She covers Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) with Opera Tampa and returns to The Metropolitan Opera for her second workshop with the company, this time as Sarah Kavalier in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Mason Bates, composer; Gene Scheer, librettist). Upcoming debuts include Rusalka (Rusalka) with Pacific Opera Project and Jocelyn Jordan (The Manchurian Candidate) with Austin Opera.
In the 2022/23 season she returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, singing Pamina in their digital series' The Magic Flute. She joined The Metropolitan Opera for the workshop of Kevin Puts' premiere, The Hours in the role of Laura Brown. She debuted with Maryland Lyric Opera as Nannetta (Falstaff) and Annapolis Opera as Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), and appeared in concert with Opera Edwardsville, The New Choral Society, and The Mid-Atlantic Symphony. Making her debut with Odyssey Opera, she reprised the role of Autonoe (The Lord of Cries) and went on to make the commercial recording of the work with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which scored a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording.
