RACHEL BLAUSTEIN
SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Praised for her “brilliant lyric soprano," Rachel Blaustein has gained recognition for her riveting stage presence and innate musicality in a variety of repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. Rachel was one of ten national finalists for the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, winning the Fernand Lamesch National Finalist Award. Additionally, she is a dual German-American citizen in possession of an active EU passport.
Ms. Blaustein’s exciting 2025-2026 season kicked off at the Spoleto Festival, where she was called in at the eleventh hour to sing an “evocative” Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screwfor three out of four performances (CultureSouth). Also this season, she makes her role and company debut at Cincinnati Opera as Hodel in their new production of Fiddler on the Roof, a role she the reprises later in the season in a return to Austin Opera. She joins Ravinia Festival as a Vocal Fellow in their prestigious Steans Institute and makes her role and company debut in the title role of Dean Anthony’s production of Viardot’s Cendrillon at Opera Montana. Additionally, she will join Chicago Opera Theater as Mistress Ford (cover) in Salieri’s Falstaff, and make her debut with Virginia Symphony Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah.
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The 2024-2025 season included her return to Carnegie Hall in Erica Glenn’s Worldwide Requiem, conducted by the composer, her début with Austin Opera as Jocelyn Jordan in The Manchurian Candidate, her début with South Florida Symphony in Handel’s Messiah, and the title role in Rusalka at Pacific Opera Project, where Stage & Screen praised her as a “standout” for her “lush phrasing and shimmering high notes.” In the previous season, Rachel made her role debut as Gilda in Rigoletto with Opera Delaware and Opera Baltimore. Tim Smith, former arts critic for the Baltimore Sun, praised her “lovely, pearly thread of tone that helped her get to the very heart of the character.” She also joined Opera Omaha for their Opera Outdoors concert, performed as Sarah Kavalier in the workshop of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay with The Metropolitan Opera, presented a recital at Academy Art Museum, and debuted with the Indianapolis Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. In previous seasons, Ms. Blaustein performed the role of Nannetta in Falstaff with Maryland Lyric Opera, Countess Almaviva in Annapolis Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, and Pamina in The Magic Flute for Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ digital series, and she made her Carnegie Hall début as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana. Other concert engagements included Mozart’s Requiem with New Choral Society, appearances with Maryland Opera, and Gala concerts with Opera Edwardsville and the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Blaustein made her Santa Fe Opera début in summer 2021 as Autonoe in the world premiere of John Corigliano and Mark Adamo’s The Lord of Cries and is heard on the opera’s Grammy-nominated commercial release on the Pentatone label. She made her Tulsa Opera début as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and joined the Washington National Opera to cover the role of the Monument in Kamala Sankaram and A.M. Homes' Rise as part of the world premiere of Written in Stone. She returned to Chicago Opera Theatre as Frasquita in Carmen, where she appeared previously as the Queer Kid in the Midwest premiere of Kamala Sankaram and Jerre Dye’s Taking up Serpents and in Daniel Catan and Juan Tovar’s La hija de Rappaccini. She created the role of Micòl in the 2022 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie’s new opera The Garden of the Finzi-Continis for New York City Opera, garnering praise from The New York Times for “bringing a sweetness to Micòl that persevered through her character’s capriciousness.” She joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to cover Pamina in their production of The Magic Flute and to sing the role of Ruth and cover Rose in the world premiere of Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman’s Awakenings. She also joined The Metropolitan Opera for their workshop of Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce’s The Hours, made her début as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin with Opera NEO, covered Kenzie in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited touring production of Earth to Kenzie, and joined the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for Bach’s Mass in B Minor.
Active in competition, Ms. Blaustein was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Paris Opera Competition and competed in the second round of the 62nd Tenor Viñas Competition in Barcelona in 2025. Rachel is the recipient of the Farwell Trust Award from the Musicians Club of Women and holds a 2025 Alumni Excellence Award from her alma mater, Hofstra University. She took second place in the 2021 Partners for the Arts Competition and has received numerous Regional and Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera Competition before earning her Grant Finalist title in 2022.
A native of Olney, Maryland, Ms. Blaustein earned her Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University.
Current as of August 21, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"[S]he is no longer an emerging opera star; soprano Rachel Blaustein has arrived." – Opera Gene
Le nozze di Figaro – “The Countess is the most sympathetic role in the opera and has some of the most beautiful arias. I have seen soprano Rachel Blaustein, who played the role, several times […] She has a lovely soprano voice and sings beautifully, maneuvering easily in her higher register. My takeaway from this performance is that she is no longer an emerging opera star; soprano Rachel Blaustein has arrived.”
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"[Blaustein] added emotional gravity to the production..." – Parterre Box
The Manchurian Candidate – "Rachel Blaustein as Jocelyn added emotional gravity to the production, offering a deeply sorrowful tone during the 'We Are Safe' duet with Raymond.”
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"...a standout...[Blaustein] beautifully conveyed [Rusalka]..." – Stage and Cinema
Rusalka – "Rachel Blaustein, in the role of Rusalka, is a standout. Her lyric soprano voice, with its lush phrasing and shimmering high notes, beautifully conveyed the character’s yearning and heartbreak. Her performance of 'Song to the Moon' was a highlight.”
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"[Blaustein] soared beautifully in her upper register...gorgeous..." – Opera Gene
Rigoletto – “I have become a big fan of soprano Rachel Blaustein who sang the role of Gilda. She soared beautifully in her upper register; her singing was gorgeous.”
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"...a lovely, pearly thread of tone..." – Tim Smith, Former Arts Critic of the Baltimore Sun
Rigoletto – “As Gilda, soprano Rachel Blaustein produced a lovely, pearly thread of tone that helped her get to the very heart of the character. Her way of shading phrases with coloristic nuance (and adding elegant flourishes to Caro nome) added to her poetic portrayal.”
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"... a sensational company debut …” – Washington Classical Review
Falstaff– “Best among the women, however, was newcomer Rachel Blaustein, who made a sensational company debut as Nannetta. The radiant young soprano, who hails from Olney and did her graduate work at the Peabody Institute, floated velvet-gloved high notes in this crucial role. She flirted innocently in the stolen moments with her lover, Fenton, and made a resplendent fairy queen in the opera’s gorgeous final scene."
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"...Blaustein brought a sweetness to Micól... – The New York Times
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – "The soprano Rachel Blaustein brought a sweetness to Micòl that persevered through her character’s capriciousness."
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"...Blaustein [made] a stellar NYCO debut..." – DC Metro Theater Arts
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – " soprano Rachel Blaustein, making a stellar NYCO debut as Micól (who senses the doom and the likelihood of being the last in the long Finzi-Contini line)."
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"[Blaustein's] lyric voice had a carefree lilt..." – Opera Wire
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis – “Vocally, she was well cast. Her lyric voice had a carefree lilt, perfect for the daughter of the richest family in Ferrara, and this came across beautifully in the letter-writing scene as she narrates the words she will send to Giorgio.”
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"...[Blaustein's] clear soprano often carried the plot..." – Urban Milwaukee
Dido and Aeneas – “Floating in and out of the chorus, as do many in this production, was Rachel Blaustein, whose clear soprano often carried the plot in the Purcell piece.”