REHANNA THELWELL
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell is quickly becoming known for her magnetic performances and expressive vocal power in a wide variety of repertoire. After completing the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist program, she made a notable mainstage début in the title role of Carmen at The Kennedy Center, with Parterre Box describing her performance as “stupendous.”
In the upcoming season, Ms. Thelwell will return to several leading opera companies across the country, starting off at Detroit Opera for her portrayal of Aunt Lou in Highway 1, USA, then Opera Philadelphia to perform in the world premiere of Tony Award-winning playwright Michael R. Jackson’s Complications in Sue, and rounding the season out at Atlanta Opera to sing Marcellina in their production of Le nozze di Figaro. Future seasons will bring exciting house débuts across the globe for Ms. Thelwell including a highly anticipated production at Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Belgium.
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Last season, Ms. Thelwell returned to Opera Philadelphia to sing Angela Rose in the American premiere of The Listeners, a piece she previously workshopped with Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. She also performed as Mother Goose at Opera Omaha in The Rake’s Progress, made her début with Portland Opera as Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, and joined Nashville Opera and New Orleans Opera as Kendra in The Cook Off!, working alongside the musical duo of Shawn E. Okpebholo and Mark Campbell. Moreover, Ms. Thelwell recently performed at San Francisco Opera as Katie Ellen/Caller and covered Fatima in Omar, made her début with Atlanta Opera as Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, joined Detroit Opera as the Forester’s Wife/Owl in The Cunning Little Vixen, and appeared as Julia in Two Corners at Finger Lakes Opera by composer B.E. Boykin and librettist Jarrod Lee.
Other recent engagements include Ms. Thelwell’s début at Dutch National Opera as Girlfriend/Congregant 3 in Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue, roles she later reprised at Washington National Opera. She has also performed Dinah/Anna I in Madison Opera’s double-bill of Trouble in Tahiti/The Seven Deadly Sins, joined South Florida Symphony for Bruckner’s Te Deum, and appeared with Bangor Symphony in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Additional credits include her début with The Washington Chorus for Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, and a reprise of this work with Exigence Ensemble.
Ms. Thelwell’s notable performances extend to her portrayal of Ruby/Sinner Woman in Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Lyric Opera of Chicago, a role she originated with Opera Theatre St. Louis, for which Opera News praised her as a “standout” among the supporting cast, and her début with Opera Philadelphia as Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex. At Washington National Opera, she performed Third Lady in The Magic Flute and Conchetta in the American Opera Initiative’s Night Trip. Additional engagements include joining the National Symphony Orchestra as the Narrator in Portrait of a Queen, recording Blue with Washington National Opera, her mainstage début with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Aunt Lou in Highway 1, U.S.A, and Opera in the Park with Madison Opera. Ms. Thelwell has also been involved in the workshop for Iphigenia with Esperanza Spalding.
Other recent engagements include her return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in as Giovanna in Rigoletto and Ruby in Fire Shut Up in My Bones and her Carnegie Hall début with the Exigence Vocal Ensemble led by Dr. Eugene Rogers. Thelwell had the immense pleasure of performing alongside Talise Trevigne and Morris Robinson in The University Musical Society’s Porgy and Bess as Maria. She joined the Miami Music Festival Wagner Institute for a second time in their production of the Götterdämmerung prologue as the 2nd Norn. In her first year with the Wagner Institute, Thelwell had the privilege of sharing the stage with soprano Christine Goerke and bass-baritone Alan Held for their rendition of “The Ride of the Valkyries.” She was also invited to sing with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra for their performance of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky in Anchorage, Alaska and returned to perform a concert series through the Kenai Musical Society.
Thelwell began her studies in 2009 at Northern Arizona University under the tutelage of Deborah Raymond. In 2014, she was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Michigan, where she joined the studio of Nadine Washington, returning in 2016 for her specialist degree.
Current as of June 1, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"Thelwell is a revelation..." – The Observer
The Listeners – "Rehanna Thelwell, excellent throughout as Angela, was never more heartbreaking and terrifying than when she follows a guttural scream with abject pleas for Howard to 'use her.' We know exactly who this fragile woman is. Thelwell is a revelation as Angela; completely free of vanity, she sobs, chatters, and gasps, always just slightly too loudly, and sets everyone’s teeth on edge."
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"...a powerhouse..." – Seen and Heard International
The Listeners – "Rehanna Thelwell was a powerhouse as Angela Rose."
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"... these pieces showcase the exceptional mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell..." – The Capital Times
Trouble in Tahiti / Seven Deadly Sins – "Together, these pieces showcase the exceptional mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell and make for a pleasantly compact evening at the opera. . . Thelwell and Gray are well paired here, expressive, grounded performers with a sure command of Bernstein’s musical style. . . Thelwell sparkles on the title aria, giving her retelling of a silly movie plot the barest edge of mania. . . In both of these pieces, Thelwell is a true star. She’s a pop of primary color among khaki in “Trouble” . . . and digs as deep as she can for emotional impact in “Sins.”"
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"... a stupendous Carmen..." – Parterre Box
Carmen – “There are five performances remaining of Washington National Opera’s season-closing production of Carmen. Only one, however, is worth your time: Rehanna Thelwell will sing the title role once more, on May 27, and she is, in her role debut, a stupendous Carmen. WNO’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, which frequently offers some of its singers a chance to perform leading roles in a performance or two of each of their productions, as was the case on Sunday, is not known for minting stars. Yet Thelwell is one of the singular talents to emerge from it in the past six years. Her top-flight voice is distinctive and rangy, the center lithe, silky, and clear, and her chest voice voluptuous and authoritative. She’s a gutsy, energetic actress and her take on Carmen favors high-spirited immediacy rather than aloof fatedness. With a bit more time. . . she has the makings of a superior Carmen."
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"... standout..." – Opera News
Fire Shut Up in My Bones – “Standouts in the large ensemble included Rehanna Thelwell’s Ruby”
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"...The sheer beauty of Rehanna Thelwell’s sound..." – BackTrack
Oedipus Rex – “The sheer beauty of Rehanna Thelwell’s sound. . . her distinctive presence suited Queen Jocasta well. The evening came alive in her reading of “Nonn’ erubeskite, reges” and subsequent scene of guilty recrimination with Burden’s Oedipus.”
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"...Regal becomes Thelwell both dramatically and vocally..." – Seen and Heard International
Oedipus Rex – “Rehanna Thelwell’s imperious, smug Jocasta followed a similar downward trajectory, as her haughty dismissals of the oracle’s revelations were gradually replaced by horror, if not exactly remorse. Regal becomes Thelwell both dramatically and vocally, as did the Verdian style in which Stravinsky composed Jocasta’s aria.”
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"... showed off her range..." – The Capital Times
Opera in the Park – “Rehanna Thelwell, a mezzo-soprano in a stunning golden gown, showed off her range too, from a delicate rendition of Elgar’s “Where Corals Lie” to vocal growls and broad humor in “When You’re Good to Mama” from the musical “Chicago.”
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"...Thelwell brought plenty of warmth to the role..." – Opera News
Highway 1, U.S.A. – “Mezzo Rehanna Thelwell brought plenty of warmth to the role of Mary’s sympathetic Aunt Lou.”
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"... Rehanna Thelwell is superb..." – Broadway World
Highway 1, U.S.A – “Rehanna Thelwell is superb as Aunt Lou, who spends a night or two with Mary while Bob is away on a trip. Mary has long been a second daughter to Lou, whose first child died young. It's an intimate scene, and Thelwell fills it with warmth-her voice rich and lovely.”
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"... Thelwell’s dynamic presence made the strongest impressions..." – Washington Post
Night Trip – “The singers, from the WNO’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, were excellent. . . Thelwell’s dynamic presence made the strongest impressions on this reviewer, but everyone had superb moments, without a weak link.”
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"... brought a thrilling commitment and dramatic intelligence..." – Washington Classical Review
Night Trip – “Simon’s score opens with a frenetic collage of influences from the period, mixing snippets of Jazz, Motown, and martial motifs for the veterans. These are not reserved solely for the orchestra, however—the substantial opening aria for Conchetta tasks the singer (the tremendous Rehanna Thelwell) with handling these stylistic shifts vocally as well. . . The most impressive turn of the evening was reserved for Rehanna Thelwell in Night Trip, who brought a thrilling commitment and dramatic intelligence to the bravura solo scenes that bookended the piece.”
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"...She’s got it all..." – DC Theatre Scene
Night Trip – “Thelwell embodied the role of Conchetta, a young Black teenager, who is being driven from Chicago by two uncles to visit her family in Tennessee. . . The free physical expression of this performer, her clarity with putting across language, and her accessibility to deep emotional pools demonstrates the most important aspect of any performance art form. She’s got it all. Thelwell carries the arc of the piece perfectly from radiant innocence to what becomes for us all a heartbreaking “knowing” of the real world.”
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"... Thelwell was riveting..." – OperaGene
Night Trip – “I saved the best for last; mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell was riveting as Conchetta. She first appears commanding the stage, full of life, singing beautifully, and by the end, commanding the stage, singing knowingly.”
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"...Thelwell’s titanic sound..." – DC Metro Theater Arts
Washington National Opera Riffs and Relations – “Where all that energy led was to another booming performance, this one by American mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell in Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s “O Loving Heart, Trust On.” It’s impossible not to compare Thelwell’s titanic sound to that of another big-voiced American mezzo, the late Jessye Norman. Thelwell sang the wistful work with tenderness, but her thunderous delivery was more reminiscent of gospel singing than it was a quiet meditation on faith. That’s okay. Given Thelwell’s level of craft, it was great.”