"One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation."
-Jessye Norman
Black Mexican-American soprano, Kristen Marie Gillis, is a rising young artist- sharing her passion for music on concert and opera stages.
Opening her 24/25 season, Kristen will be joining Finger Lakes Opera as a Young Artist and makes her company debut as Nella in Gianni Schicchi. Along with several performances and community engagement programming, she will also be covering the leading role of Florine in the newly commissioned opera, Two Corners, by B.E. Boykin and Jarrod Lee. Kristen will also be featured in various community engagement performances, including an “Out Loud at the M.A.G.” and FLO’s Juneteenth program. Starting in September, Ms. Gillis will join Opera Orlando’s Studio Artist program for their 24/25 “Destiny + Desire” season. There, she will be featured in Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin - a benefit concert and presentation in honor of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida. Later, she will make her company and role debut as the Lady in Waiting in Verdi’s Macbeth. In the spring, Kristen will make her role debut as Noémi (Cendrillon), Sophie (Werther), Hero (Beatrice + Benedict), and cover the role of Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana. In May, she will be featured as a principal artist, portraying the role of Lucy in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, directed by Roberta Emerson.
In her 23/24 season, Kristen made her professional debut as a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Studio Artist with Central City Opera. There she was featured in scenes as Madeline (Mollicone’s Face on the Barroom Floor), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), and La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro). Ms. Gillis also performed as a Recitalist in CCO’s “Lunch & a Song” luncheon series, as well as in the ensembles in all three mainstage productions. In early October, she will compete as a Semi-Finalist (Artist Division) of the Camille Coloratura Awards, and has advanced as a Semi-Finalist in the SAS Performing Arts Company Voice Competition. Starting at the end of October, Kristen will join Opera Ithaca’s Apprentice Artist program as a Young Artist. During her time there, she will perform as the First Wood-sprite, Turnspit, and cover the titular role of Dvorak’s Rusalka. Ms. Gillis will also perform in the Apprentice Artist recital series as a part of the 2023 Opera Ithaca Festival. This spring, she will compete in the Opera Division of Gerda Lissner International Voice Competition, as well as Opera at Florham’s International Vocal Competition and the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.
In her 22/23 season, Kristen was seen on stage as ‘Eliza’ in the award-winning production of Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters, ‘Mutter’ (Hansel und Gretel), and in scenes as ‘Donna Anna’ (Don Giovanni) and the title role of Norma - all with Temple Opera Theater. In concert, Ms. Gillis was the Soprano I soloist in Mozart’s Missa in C minor with the Abilene Christian University A Cappella Chorus. She also joined the Vocal Immersion Program at Castleton Festival as a Resident Artist. In competition, Kristen was named a Winner of the Career Bridges Grant Awards, Third Prize Winner of the Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition. Winner of the Boyer College of Music and Dance Student Soloist Competition - later performing Violetta’s Act I aria, “Sempre libera” with the Temple University Symphony Orchestra. She also advanced as a Semi-Finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition and was a Finalist in the Opera Ithaca Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice. In the summer of 2022, Kristen participated in a masterclass with internationally renowned voice teacher, Gregory Lamar, in collaboration with the Black Opera Alliance and the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts.
In her 21/22 season, she revisited the role of Countess Rosina Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) and performed in scenes as Carolina (Il matrimonio segreto), and the title roles of Strauss’ Arabella and Floyd’s Susannah - all with Temple Opera Theater. Ms. Gillis was also awarded Third Prize in the CL-9 Advanced Treble Category of the NATS Eastern Region Student Auditions and was a recipient of John T. Douglas Award for Young Artists through the Boyer College of Music and Dance.
In past seasons, Ms. Gillis has been seen on stage as the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, the title role of Suor Angelica, and in scenes as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier). Although canceled due to COVID-19, Kristen was accepted in the Varna International Summer Program as a Principal Artist to make her role and company debut as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. In concert, Ms. Gillis has been a soloist in the Messiah with both The Lubbock Chorale and Amarillo Opera. She has also been the soprano soloist in Fauré’s Requiem and Hadyn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai with the Abilene Christian University A Cappella Chorus and University Chorale, respectively. Ms. Gillis was also a Winner of the Tulsa District in the 2021 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, awarded the First Prize of the Charleston International Music Competition, and Second Prize in the Advanced Division of the Rocky Mountain Music Competition. Kristen has advanced as a Semi-Finalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Competition and the SAS Company Vocal Competition. In February 2020, Ms. Gillis was the First Place Winner of the Texas Tech University’s Concert Competition. During her undergraduate studies, she was Winner of the NATS Texoma Region Auditions, botb in 2017 and 2018.
In Summer of 2020, Ms. Gillis had the privilege of working with soprano Angel Blue in her Opera Training Studio as a Young Artist. She has also been a masterclass participant with Christine Goerke, Melissa Wegner, Ana María Martínez, and Barbara Hill Moore and performed under the baton of Michael Sakir, John Hollins, Brian Holman, Imre Palló, among others. During her time in Lubbock, TX, she was also one of five Young Artists to be part of the Susan Graham Studio at Texas Tech University in the 2019-2020 school year. Kristen is an alumna of the summer training programs Red River Lyric Opera in Wichita Falls, TX and Taos Opera Institute in Taos, NM.
Kristen is a Central Texas native and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA, where she continues her studies with mezzo-soprano, Kathryn Leemhuis. She is a proud first-generation college graduate, holding degrees from Temple University and Abilene Christian University.