Biography

Kelly Riordan is an American mezzo-soprano who has been praised for her “exuberant honesty” onstage and her “beautiful vibrancy and warmth” of tone. Based in Denver, she currently enjoys a diverse career performing, teaching, and conducting research internationally. Passionate about building community through storytelling and creating access to music education, Kelly strives to weave these values into all aspects of her work.

In the 2024/25 season, Kelly will produce and debut in Lee Hoiby’s one-woman, one-act opera Bon Appétit! as Julia Child. Kelly’s recent operatic credits include Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Marcellina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Ursule in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict (Eklund Opera), the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Baba in Menotti’s The Medium (Illinois Wesleyan Opera), and numerous other roles. In addition to opera, Kelly enjoys musical theater and has performed the roles of Cleo (The Most Happy Fella), Little Buttercup (H.M.S. Pinafore), and Prudy Pingleton (Hairspray). 

Kelly appears frequently in recital singing German Lieder and American art song. She has a special interest in the music of fin de siècle Vienna and Harlem Renaissance America. In the 2022/23 season, Kelly performed several recitals in Vienna, Austria as a Fulbright scholar. Debuting in the esteemed Lisztsaal of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, she sang the scarcely before heard Lieder of composer Robert Fürstenthal. In 2022, Kelly appeared in an Alumni recital at Illinois Wesleyan University presenting the program Peripheral Perspectives, featuring songs by historically marginalized composers. Other significant recital programs include works by American composers Robert Owens, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and Libby Larsen. 

In addition to performing frequently in recital, Kelly has performed such concert works as Handel’s Messiah (alto soloist), Vivaldi’s Gloria (alto soloist), and Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen. Kelly has coached other standard mezzo concert works such as G. Mahler’s Five Rückert-Lieder, Berlioz’s Les nuits d'été, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody. 

In the fall of 2022, Kelly began her collaboration with Exilarte: Center for Banned Music and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien under the Fulbright scholarship in Vienna, Austria. There she began the ongoing study of the songs and life of Robert Fürstenthal – one of the numerous exiled Jewish artists who faced persecution under the Third Reich. In addition to going through the archives and conducting research on Fürstenthal’s life, Kelly created and performed a lecture recital series contextualizing his works within the Austrian and American traditions. 

Passionate about creating spaces for cultural celebration, Kelly frequently writes and receives grants to work on community-based musical projects. In collaboration with local Colorado musicians, she created a neighborhood backyard concert series during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is currently working on funding a project to provide voice lessons and mentorship to low-income high school students. Having performed in a number of children’s operas, Kelly finds joy in sharing the classical arts with the next generation. 

In addition to her art song research, Kelly is interested in the mind-body connection and its relation to vocal pedagogy. Her master’s thesis, “Singing to Heal: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection to Encourage Mental-Wellness in Singers,” kick-started a lifelong curiosity around integrating a whole body approach to teaching and performing. Kelly is training to become an Alexander Technique teacher in order to better support her voice and her students’. In addition to AT, Kelly is a student of DART, Rolfing, and yoga. 

As a voice teacher with nearly 10 years of experience, Kelly blends tools from the great Bel Canto teachers with modern scientifically-informed knowledge of vocal acoustics and an in-depth study of embodied anatomy. Having taught students from 5-70 years of age and at all skill levels, Kelly’s pedagogy boils down to these key concepts: curiosity, exploration, and play. Kelly believes that good technique and musical intention fuel one another. Her students are asked to engage with themselves and their community through music in the hopes that each performance can create connection and joy. 

Kelly was awarded second place in the 2022 Denver Lyric Opera Competition and the 2019 National NATS Competition. She is also a Pi Kappa Lambda award recipient, Delta Phi Alpha member, and speaks German at a B2.1 level. 

Kelly holds a master’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder where she studied under Abigail Nims and a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University where she studied under Ingrid Kammin.