Kelley O'Connor

Who is Kelley O'Connor?

Kelley O'Connor is an American mezzo-soprano. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California and her Masters' degree in Music from the University of California, Los Angeles.

O'Connor has sung the music of several contemporary composers, including Osvaldo Golijov, Peter Lieberson and Steven Stucky. She sang the role of Federico García Lorca in the original version of Golijov's opera Ainadamar at the Tanglewood Festival in 2003, and subsequently in the revised version produced at Santa Fe Opera in 2005. O'Connor sang the role of García Lorca on the Deutsche Grammophon recording of Ainadamar, which won a Grammy award.

Lieberson chose O'Connor as the first mezzo-soprano to sing his composition Neruda Songs live in concert after the death of his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, for whom he had originally composed the song cycle. O'Connor first sang Neruda Songs in Chicago and subsequently in New York City in 2008. O'Connor's other work in contemporary music has included singing the part of Mrs Goodman in the premiere of the oratorio August 4, 1964 by Steven Stucky in Dallas.