Praised for her “brilliant lyric soprano,” Rachel Blaustein has gained recognition for her riveting stage presence and innate musicality in a variety of repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. Rachel was one of ten national finalists for the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, winning the Fernand Lamesch National Finalist Award. Ms. Blaustein’s exciting 2025–2026 season kicked off in her role and company debut as the title character in Viardot's Cinderella with Opera Montana, followed by her appearance at the Art of Song Festival at the Colburn School, curated by Mo. James Conlon and Kevin Murphy. She made her debut with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Handel's Messiah and returned to Chicago Opera Theater to cover Mistress Ford in Salieri's Falstaff. She revived the role of Hodel in Crystal Manich's production of Fiddler on the Roof with Austin Opera, a role she recently debuted with Cincinnati Opera. Additionally, she joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for the workshop of Safe Haven (Tobias Picker & Aryeh Stollman) in the roles of Amelia Earhart and Shira. She rounded out her season in a triumphant return to the Spoleto Festival USA in two debuts. She earned praise from Opera News for her "warm and expressive" vocalism as Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, then "transported the audience with her lofty, lyric delivery" (Culture South) in Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. The upcoming season includes her role and house debut as Adele in Die Fledermaus with Knoxville Opera, and her house debut with Detroit Opera in her signature role of Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof. On the concert stage, she will join the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra for Handel's Messiah and will perform recitals with Art Song Chicago, the Russian Chamber Arts Society, and Cincinnati Song Initiative.

 

The 2024–2025 season included an exciting debut with The Spoleto Festival USA, where she was called in at the eleventh hour to sing an “evocative” Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw for three out of four performances (CultureSouth). She also made her role and company debut with Cincinnati Opera as Hodel in a new production of Fiddler on the Roof. She joined the Ravinia Festival as a Vocal Fellow in their prestigious Steans Institute and made her debut with Austin Opera as Jocelyn Jordan in The Manchurian Candidate. On the concert front, she joined South Florida Symphony in Handel's Messiah and returned to Carnegie Hall in Erica Glenn’s premiere, The Worldwide Requiem, conducted by the composer. In the 23-24 season, she debuted the title role of Rusalka (reduced orchestra) with Pacific Opera Project, where Stage & Screen praised her as a “standout” for her “lush phrasing and shimmering high notes.” Rachel also made her debut as Gilda in Rigoletto with Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore. Tim Smith, former arts critic for the Baltimore Sun, praised her “lovely, pearly thread of tone that helped her get to the very heart of the character.” She appeared with Opera Omaha for their Opera Outdoors concert, performed as Sarah Kavalier in the workshop of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay with the Metropolitan Opera, presented a recital at Academy Art Museum, and debuted with the Indianapolis Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. In previous seasons, Ms. Blaustein performed the role of Nannetta in Falstaff with Maryland Lyric Opera, Countess Almaviva in Annapolis Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute for Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ digital series, and she made her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. Other concert engagements included Mozart’s Requiem with New Choral Society, appearances with Maryland Opera, and gala concerts with Opera Edwardsville and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.

 

Ms. Blaustein created the role of Micòl Finzi-Contini in the 2022 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s new opera The Garden of the Finzi-Continis for New York City Opera, garnering praise from The New York Times for “bringing a sweetness to Micòl that persevered through her character’s capriciousness.” She joined Opera Theatre of St. Louis to cover Pamina in their production of The Magic Flute and to sing the role of Ruth and cover Rose in the world premiere of Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Awakenings. She also joined the Metropolitan Opera for their workshop of Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce’s The Hours, covered Kenzie in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited touring production of Earth to Kenzie, and joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for Bach’s Mass in B Minor.

 

Ms. Blaustein made her Santa Fe Opera debut in summer 2021 as Autonoe in the world premiere of John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s The Lord of Cries and is heard on the opera’s Grammy-nominated commercial release on the Pentatone label. She made her Tulsa Opera debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and joined the Washington National Opera to cover the role of the Monument in Kamala Sankaram and A.M. Homes’ Rise as part of the world premiere of Written in Stone. She returned to Chicago Opera Theatre as Frasquita in Carmen, where she appeared previously as the Queer Kid in the Midwest premiere of Kamala Sankaram and Jerre Dye’s Taking Up Serpents and in Daniel Catán and Juan Tovar’s La hija de Rappaccini.

 

Active in competition, Ms. Blaustein was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Paris Opera Competition and competed in the second round of the 62nd Tenor Viñas Competition in Barcelona in 2025. Rachel is the recipient of the Farwell Trust Award from the Musicians Club of Women and holds a 2025 Alumni Excellence Award from her alma mater, Hofstra University. She took second place in the 2021 Partners for the Arts Competition and has received numerous Regional and Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera Competition before earning her Grant Finalist title in 2022.

 

A native of Olney, Maryland, Ms. Blaustein earned her Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and is a dual German-American citizen in possession of an active EU passport.