The “rich girl” who is careless with hearts is a trope, and a less-skilled actor could fall into the stereotype trap. Blaustein stayed far from that pitfall.
-Opera Wire
About Rachel
Praised for her "crystalline soprano and admirable control and grace" (Opera Today), Rachel Blaustein, a 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Grand Finalist, is poised as a bright and up-and-coming artist, with a moving sensibility to drama and text. In the 23/24 season, she looks forward to performances 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, jumps in as Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw) with Opera Ithaca, 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).
In the 2022/23 season, Rachel joined The Metropolitan Opera for the workshop of Kevin Puts' premiere, The Hours in the role of Laura Brown. She returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Pamina in The Magic Flute (filmed), joined The New Choral Society as the soprano soloist in Mozart's Requiem, and debuted with Odyssey Opera as Autonoe (The Lord of Cries), a role which she premiered at Santa Fe Opera. She went on to reprise the role in the work's commercial recording with Boston Modern Orchestra Project which scored a 2024 Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording. She debuted with Annapolis Opera as Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) and Maryland Lyric Opera as Nannetta (Falstaff), and was heard in concert with Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Opera Edwardsville, Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, and New England Symphony Orchestra in her Carnegie Hall debut. Last summer, she reprised the role of Micól in The Garden of the Finzi-Continis in Florence, Italy and debuted with the Ravinia Festival.
The 2021/22 season proved to be an exciting year with many debuts. Most prominently, Rachel was named a Grand Finalist in the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She made her Opera Theatre Saint Louis debut as Ruth in Tobias Picker's world premiere, Awakenings and Pamina cover in The Magic Flute. Earlier in the season, Rachel made her New York City Opera debut in role of Micól Finzi-Contini in Ricky Ian Gordon's celebrated world premiere, The Garden of the Finzi-Contini's. She made her debut with Tulsa Opera as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and joined Chicago Opera Theater as Frasquita in their ground-breaking and gender-bending production of Carmen featuring Jamie Barton as Carmen and Stephanie Blythe as Don José. In summer of 2021, she made her Santa Fe Opera debut as an Apprentice Artist singing Autonoe in John Corigliano's world premiere, The Lord of Cries and Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In the 2020-21 season, she joined Chicago Opera Theater as Queer Kid in the Midwest Premiere digital production of Taking Up Serpents, and was the recipient of the Musicians Club of Women's Farwell Trust Award. She placed 2nd in the Partners for the Arts, Inc. 8th National Opera Competition, and won an Encouragement Award from the Northwest Regional Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
In previous seasons, she has sung with Kentucky Opera, Florentine Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera NEO, Opera Santa Barbara, Chautauqua Opera, and Fort Worth Opera. Recent engagements of note include performances as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Bel Canto Chorus, and covers of Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice (Des Moines Metro Opera), Adina in L'elisir d'amore (Opera Santa Barbara) and Kenzie in Earth to Kenzie (Lyric Opera of Chicago | Lyric Unlimited).
A native of Olney, Maryland, Rachel holds Bachelor's degree in Voice with a minor in drama from Hofstra University and a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.
