Keely Futterer has been praised by Opera News as a “high-quality lyric soprano with a keen verbal nuance,” and has been seen in performances across the globe. Highlights of her 23/24 season include debuts at Hudson Hall Opera for the title role in a new R. B. Schlather production of Handel’s Rodelinda, Madison Opera for L’Amant anonyme (Léontine), and a return to Minnesota Opera for her second season in the Resident Artist program and La bohème (Musetta). On the concert stage she will debut with the Erie Philharmonic in Messiah. Last season in her first year at Minnesota Opera, Keely made her company debut in the world premiere of Edward Tulane (Abilene’s Mother/Abilene/Fancy Doll #2) followed by Rinaldo (Armida), and Don Giovanni (Donna Anna cover). Additional engagements last season included a return to The Glimmerglass Festival for Candide (Vanderdendur) and Rinaldo (Armida) as well as Messiah with the Memphis Symphony. She made her debut at The Glimmerglass Festival in 21/22 in Tenor Overboard (Angostura LaBelle), the world premiere Rossini pastiche created by Francesca Zambello and Ken Ludwig and The Sound of Music (Baroness Elberfeld).
Operatic highlights of Ms. Futterer’s career include Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi), La voix humaine, the title role in Suor Angelica, L’elisir d’amore (Adina), and Le nozze di Figaro (Contessa). She received critical acclaim for her role debut in La fille du régiment (Marie) at Opera Saratoga, where she was reviewed as having “one of the most gorgeous voices you can imagine with charm to match. Hers [was] a performance you will remember and speak about for years.” A champion of new music, Keely has also been seen in Victoria Bond’s Mrs. President (Isabella Beecher), the American premiere of Philip Glass’s The Witches of Venice (Witch Mother), and she was part of the New Works Forum in NYC with American Lyric Theatre, premiering The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (Sara Turing).
A passionate interpreter of concert work, Ms. Futterer covered Renée Fleming for the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ Letters from Georgia with the Eastman Philharmonic, was the soloist for Mahler’s Symphony IV, also with the Eastman Philharmonic, and performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Other concert repertoire include the Mozart Requiem, Bach’s solo cantata for soprano, BWV 51: Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. Keely also had the great honor to work with the Lynx Project on their Keely Futterer Soprano | 2023-2024 Autism Advocacy Concert Series, where she performed the world premiere of two song cycles, both written expressly for her voice.
Additional professional accolades include being named a semi-finalist at the Midwest Regional MONC Auditions, placing first in the Friends of Eastman Opera Competition, and winning first prize at Opera Mississippi’s John Alexander National Vocal Competition. Keely studied at Arkansas Tech University and the Eastman School of Music and has been a member of the Artist Training programs at The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Saratoga, Opera Memphis, and Tulsa Opera.