Quinn Kelsey began in opera in 1991 as a chorus member with the Hawaii Opera Theatre. For the Hawaii native, the last 30 years have taken him many places and have put him on many different stages in the U.S. and abroad.

The baritone holds a Bachelor's of Music degree in Performance from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.

Kelsey’s list of programs and study include the Chautauqua Institute with Marlena Malas, San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program under Sherri Greenwald and Mark Morash, and three years at Chicago’s Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, now known as the Ryan Opera Center. And for two seasons, Kelsey was accepted to the roster of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

In the new year, the baritone arrived to the fourth of five role debuts, as Filippo Visconti in Bellini's BEATRICE DI TENDA with the Opéra National de Paris. Cast included soprano Tamara Wilson, mezzo-soprano Theresa Kronthaler, and tenor brothers Pene and Amitai Pati. Mark Wigglesworth conducted the Peter Sellars production. It was a long time coming to finally return to Paris after an almost eight year hiatus since RIGOLETTO in 2016. The baritone made the decision to cancel contracts for IL TROVATORE and LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR the beginning of 2023 to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Leonora.

This spring, the final role debut in the last twelve months. Kelsey originally sang Monfort in the French LES VÊPRES SICILIENNE by Verdi for his Oper Frankfurt debut in 2013. But no revivals since then. This season, Opernhaus Zürich presents I VESPRI SICILIANI, engaging the baritone for Monforte, alongside soprano Maria Agresta, tenor Sergey Romanovsky, and bass Alexander Vinogradov in a new Calixto Bieito production. Maestro Ivan Repušic conducts.

To kick off the 24/25 season, Kelsey will be New York bound. More RIGOLETTO at the Metropolitan Opera in October and early November, followed by much anticipated performances of Puccini's TOSCA in the latter half of November, and ending with a brand new AIDA by Michael Mayer premiering on New Year's Eve with performances until the end of January 2025.

Enjoy your spring and summer, everyone!!