New Zealand-American soprano Patricia Westley is praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “hugely impressive artist” who sings with a “deep velvety tone” and “sparkling vivacity”.
For the 2023/24 season, Ms. Westley joins the ensemble at Stadttheater Bern to perform in Die Zauberflöte (Pamina), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Konstanze), Jenůfa (Karolka), and Siegfried (Waldvogel). Most recently, she sang the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Bard College, and soprano 1 in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Charlotte Symphony. Upcoming engagements include Arabella (Zdenka), Rigoletto (Gilda), Les pêcheurs de perles (Leïla), and Götterdämmerung (Woglinde).
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In the summer of 2022, Ms. Westley made her European debut at Teatro la Fenice as First Niece in a new production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. Recently, she has made debuts with the Oakland Symphony as a soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem; the Pacific Symphony, singing multiple roles in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges; Amarillo Opera in Hänsel und Gretel (Gretel); and Pocket Opera in Die Fledermaus (Adele). Other highlights include Così fan tutte (Despina), Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel), and La bohème (Musetta).
As a Benenson Young Artist with Palm Beach Opera, Ms. Westley was featured in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta), Hänsel und Gretel (Gretel), and Die Zauberflöte (Papagena). She also covered Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) and La bohème (Musetta). During her tenure at the prestigious Merola Opera Program, Ms. Westley was seen as Elisa in Mozart’s Il re pastore and Selena in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. As an Atkins Young Artist at the Mariinsky Theatre, her assignments included Ilia in Idomeneo.
A lifelong devotee of poetry, Ms. Westley delights in her collaborations with pianists in the performance of song. She recently collaborated with Opera Santa Barbara for their digital recital series alongside pianist Timothy Accurso. In 2019, Patricia sang a Schwabacher Debut Recital alongside Martin Katz, presented by Merola Opera and the San Francisco Opera Center.
Ms. Westley was a New York district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and a 2023 Gerda Lissner Grant Winner. She has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation, the East Bay Opera League, and Franco-American Vocal Academy. She was awarded the esteemed Opera Fellowship at the University of Oklahoma and career grants from both the University of Oklahoma and Carnegie Mellon University.
