Soprano

Originally from Los Angeles, soprano KELLY MOREL now makes her home in Kansas City, where she performs regularly with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and throughout the Heartland region.  She completed the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in at the University of Missouri, KC, winning the Concerto/Aria Competition with Mozart's Ch'io mi scordi di te and was featured as soloist in the UMKC Choirs’ performance of Duruflé’s Requiem.  Ms. Morel made her Topeka Symphony debut as soloist in Mahler's Resurrection Symphony under the baton of Kyle Pickett.  Since then she has traveled twice each to Bulgaria and San Diego, to perform leading operatic roles with the Varna International Opera Academy and Opera NEO.
 

For the 2018-2019 season, Ms. Morel was a Resident Artist at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, making her KC Opera debut as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.  She returned in Spring 2020 for two more role debuts: Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor and Mrs. Massey in Paul Moravec's The Shining, which was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid-19.​  In the summer of 2019, Ms. Morel joined the Aspen Music Festival & School to perform the roles of Désirée Armfeldt in A Little Night Music and Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro.  Harvey Steiman of The Aspen Times praised both of her performances, saying:

"Kelly Birch [Morel] as Desiree Armfeldt carried herself with the glamor of a stage star and delivered a perfectly pitched “Send In The Clowns..."

"Her stature [of Marcellina], sure approach to intonation and tone, and attention to the music’s little details paid off every time she opened her mouth."

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Ms. Morel debuted the role of the Mother in Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors in an all-new Lyric Opera of Kansas City production utilizing newly-created puppets, designed by Kansas City’s legendary puppet master, Paul Mesner.  Most recently she portrayed Meg in Falstaff, Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, and Bridesmaid in Trial By Jury with Salt Marsh Opera, Leonore in Fidelio with Opera Company of Middlebury, and Minnie in The Murderess with Landlocked Opera.

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