Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Lehnea.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m one of those people that started singing before I could talk. Like many singers, my journey started in my local church at the age of three. I was singing so loudly in the nursery that I was invited to the front, handed a microphone, and proceeded to sing my little heart out. I fell in love with story telling through music at an early age by watching the classical musical theater movies…The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, etc. As a teenager, I began performing in musicals in my local community theater group. Transforming into someone else, stepping out on stage, and expressing through the character made me fall in love with the theater! I found my way to opera in college through my first voice teacher, Virginia Horton. She encouraged me to study classical music, and I definitely resisted at first. However, I trusted her and landed my first operatic role as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in my school’s production. The rest is history. I have discovered many things about myself and humanity through the operatic art form. I adore its emotional power to captivate an audience with the beauty of the human voice. My life’s work is to encourage people to give the live operatic experience a try.
I have performed in a variety of styles all over the world, but opera will always be my pride and joy.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an operatic soprano that specializes in bel canto repertoire. I am known for my “mercurial colored, highly responsive instrument that flew seamlessly through its registers” (The NY Times), “The soprano is a no-holds-barred singing actress” (Seen and Heard International), and her “ferociously brilliant vocal and dramatic ability that more than matched her eye-catching physicality” (Vero News).
In October, I made my highly anticipated role, house, and European debut as Violetta Valéry in Verdi’s masterpiece, La traviata with Opéra de Rouen Normandie to great success. The production ran for six performances, several of which were sold out. The production was broadcast on October 4th to an average of 100,000 spectators and the recording is available for playback on Youtube.
In January 2025, I debuted as Cunegonde in Candide with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra. Later in March, I delivered a commanding performance as Elisabetta in Maria Stuarda with Opera Baltimore. The Medium praised the portrayal, calling it “thrilling,” and noted, “an appropriately rigid, commanding figure as Elizabeth, her uncommonly warm-for-a-soprano voice raging up and down the coloratura like she invented it…her performance furious, bitter, and absolutely heartbroken, pinned between duty and love.”
2024 was a year of exciting role debuts for me. In the summer, I starred in the title role of Anna di Resburgo by Carolina Uccelli with Teatro Nuovo. This groundbreaking revival of the first female opera composer of the bel canto era captivated audiences with its strong, passionate music and psychological depth of each character. What an honor it was to premiere this work.
The New Yorker noted “Chelsea Lehnea, a soprano with a gleaming upper register, radiated righteous force in the title role.” as well as the Observer – “Once again, striking soprano Chelsea Lehnea embraced her character’s crises with a forceful flamboyance. She boldly added many searing high notes that communicated Anna’s increasing desperation.” The production has since been nominated in the Rediscovered Work category for the 2024 International Opera Awards and was named one of The New York Times Best Classical Performances of 2024.
Other notable recent performances include my Walt Disney Concert Hall debut in the Opera Forever! concert, where I performed the title role of Turandot under the baton of Daniel Suk of the Dream Orchestra of Los Angeles. I began that year as a featured soloist in the Best of Broadway & Opera in Concert with Vero Beach Opera. I then made role debuts as Liù in Turandot and as the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with St. Pete Opera.
I am most proud of my ability to portray the honesty of a scene. My work as an opera singer is based in self expression and how each performer interprets the music uniquely. In bel canto opera, the melody is often exposed…hovering over the strings. It can be a scary place to be in its simplicity, but that is where the beauty of the voice shines. The emotion that each line of poetry evokes that is then expressed through the music will always fill me with joy. That unique expression and making it with a cast and crew dedicated to the honesty of the work…that is where the magic of live theater happens. I am also known for my vocal fireworks, but I always use them to honor the composer and librettist’s vision.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I highly recommend reading the works of Martilde Marchesi, Estelle Liebling, James Anderson, and our modern vocal pedagogue and my teacher, Haus of Shmizzay. Youtube also has a vast collection of operatic recordings from the very first recordings to the most recent.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://chelsealehnea.com/
- Instagram: @chels_da_soprano
- Youtube: @chelsealehneasoprano
Image Credits
Image # 1 – Photographer Caroline Doutre
Image #3 – Photographer Steven Shires
Image #5 – Photographer Jim Swallow
Image #6 – Photographer and designer Suzanne Vinnik
