Rachael Wilson

Admired for her dramatic intensity and vocal versatility, Rachael Wilson is rapidly earning distinction across a wide and varied repertoire. Whether inhabiting the emotional depth of Bizet’s Carmen, the spiritual transcendence of Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans, or the blazing ardour of Mozart’s Donna Elvira, she brings a rare combination of vocal finesse and fearless stagecraft to each role.

In the 2025/26 season, Rachael makes two major role debuts in new productions: Venus in a new production of Tannhäuser at Opernhaus Zürich and Blanche de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites at Staatsoper Stuttgart. She returns to Komische Oper Berlin as Olga in Eugene Onegin and to Bayerische Staatsoper as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Her concert engagements reflect equal range and ambition: she will perform Messiaen’s Harawi at Opéra de Lille; appear with the National Ballet of Canada in Procession; sings Mahler’s 8th Symphony with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin at Tempelhof Airport and undertakes a tour of Asia and Europe with The English Concert under Harry Bicket, making her role debut as Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo.

In the 2024/25 season, Rachael made her debut at the Komische Oper Berlin as the Alto Soloist in Damiano Michieletto’s staged Messiah at the Tempelhof Airport. She sang Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Staatsoper Hamburg and returned to Theater Basel in the title role of Carmen. At the Glyndebourne Festival, she appeared as Varvara in Katya Kabanova under Robin Ticciati.

Operatic highlights of recent seasons include role debuts as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni for Santa Fe Opera and Malmö Opera, and as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Royal Opera House. She sang the title role of Carmen at Theater Basel under Maxime Pascal and debuted at Opernhaus Zürich as Balkis in a new production of Offenbach’s Barkouf, returning as Olga in Eugene Onegin. At Glyndebourne, she appeared as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and at Staatsoper Stuttgart she was admired as Charlotte in Werther and as Carmen. She debuted at Teatro Real, Madrid as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro—a role she also performed at Bayerische Staatsoper—and at Opéra national du Rhin as Kay in Abrahamsen’s The Snowqueen, later reprising the role with the Dutch Radio Orchestra and Kent Nagano at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

On the concert platform, Rachael has recently sung Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, and Harawi by Messiaen at both the Ruhrtriennale and Spoleto Festival. She recorded Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester. She performed John Adams’ El Niño with the American Modern Opera Company in New York, with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and the Gävle Symphony Orchestra; and made her debuts with the Orchestre national d’Île de France in Prokofiev’s Ivan the Terrible. and with the Wiener Symphoniker and Lorenzo Viotti at the Musikverein.

During her time at the Bayerische Staatsoper (2015-19), Rachael’s appearances included: Kay The Snowqueen by Hans Abrahamsen; Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel; Dorabella Cosi fan tutte; Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro; the Gymnast Lulu; Bersi Andrea Chénier and Fatime in Weber’s Oberon – a performance for which she was awarded the Bayerische Festspielpreis. 

She was member of the Ensemble at the Staatsoper Stuttgart (2019-2023), making her debut as La Malaspina in the Premiere of Sciarrino’s Luci mie traditrici, and she has since made role debuts as Charlotte, Carmen, Fricka Das Rheingold and in the title role of Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans.

Rachael Wilson is a recent recipient of the honorary Bavarian Art Prize. A native from Las Vegas, Nevada, she is a graduate of the Juilliard School.

Biography not for publication, for an up to date version please contact Oliver Clarke.