Director and soprano Patricia Racette brings the perspective of one of the most acclaimed singing actresses of her generation to her work as a stage director, teacher, and artistic leader. She currently serves as Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where she has developed a significant artistic relationship encompassing directing, performance, and the development of emerging artists.
In 26/27, Racette makes company directorial debuts at Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and San Diego Opera with productions of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah marking the composer’s centennial. She also makes her directorial debut with Boston Lyric Opera in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Racette made her directorial debut with a new production of La traviata at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2018. She has subsequently returned to OTSL to direct Susannah, A Streetcar Named Desire, and La voix humaine, the latter in which she also performed the leading role. Since 2019, she has served as Artistic Director of the company’s Gerdine Young Artist and Richard Gaddes Festival Artist programs before being named Artistic Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Her directing work beyond OTSL includes Susannah at Opera Omaha, Roméo et Juliette at Arizona Opera, Don Giovanni for San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, The Ghosts of Versailles at Rice University, and The Consul at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She has also directed the Lindemann Patron Scenes Concert for The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Rising Stars and An Evening of Scenes for the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Racette’s work as a director is informed by an acclaimed international career as a soprano and one of the foremost interpreters of Janáček and Puccini. Her signature portrayals include the title roles in Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Jenůfa, and Kátya Kabanová, as well as La bohème (Mimì), La traviata (Violetta), the three principal soprano roles in Il trittico and Dialogues des Carmélites, Salome, La fanciulla del West (Minnie), Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Katerina), and Peter Grimes (Ellen Orford). She continues to perform, with more recent repertoire including Jenůfa (Kostelnička), La voix humaine (Elle), Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen), Hänsel und Gretel (the Witch; the Mother), and A Little Night Music (Desirée Armfeldt).
A longtime leading artist at The Metropolitan Opera, Racette appeared in numerous productions and was featured in Live in HD transmissions of Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Pagliacci, and Peter Grimes. She has an equally important history with San Francisco Opera, where she trained in the Merola Opera Program and Adler Fellowship Program before going on to sing more than thirty leading roles. A champion of contemporary opera, she created roles in world premieres including The Letter, An American Tragedy, Emmeline, Cold Sassy Tree, and Dolores Claiborne.
The development of emerging artists is also central to Racette’s work. Her intensive seminar Integrative Artistry has been presented at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, The Juilliard School, Washington National Opera, Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin Studio, and New England Conservatory. Drawing on her background in both classical music and jazz, she emphasizes the integration of vocal technique, dramatic interpretation, musical style, and individual artistry.
Born and raised in New Hampshire, Racette studied jazz and music education at the University of North Texas. Her honors include an Opera News Award, the Richard Tucker Award, and the Marian Anderson Award. She received the 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording for her performance in LA Opera’s production of The Ghosts of Versailles.
2026-2027
