Praised for her "vocal power", "youthful allure", and "clear, piercing, coloratura virtuosity," American soprano Kira Kaplan is an exciting young coloratura soprano who truly feels alive on the stage.  Currently based in Glasgow, Kira is an Emerging Artist with Scottish Opera.  While there, she has enjoyed several role debuts, including Miss Wordsworth in Daisy Evans’ acclaimed new production of Albert Herring, Norina (Don Pasquale cover and all Access Performances) and originating the role of Sylvia Lawless in the world premiere of A Matter of Misconduct (Toby Hession and Emma Jenkins).   From 2023/2024 she was Global Talent Young Artist with the National Opera Studio of the United Kingdom working closely with and performing at English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, the Royal Opera House, and Glyndebourne. In May 2023, she was the proud grant recipient and winner of the prestigious Schuyler Foundation Career Bridges Grant Competition and Awards. She is a three time Regional Finalist and District Winner of the  Metropolitan Opera Laffont Council Auditions and the First Place Winner of the Artist Division in the 2022 Camille Coloratura Competition.  Kira made her Wigmore Hall debut recently in January 2024. This past spring and summer featured several title role debuts including Alcina in Handel’s Alcina with the Boston Opera Institute and Violetta Valery in Verdi’s La Traviata with Brevard Music Center and the Janiec Opera Company. In April 2022, Kira made her Symphony Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Brahms' German Requiem under the baton of conductor James Burton. ​

In fall 2022, Kira starred in Ned Rorem's Our Town to rave reviews, being hailed for her "captivating tone", and "peerless, gargantuan singing".  Her 2021/2022 season featured exciting role debuts including Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Diana in If I Were You (Heggie), and Harriet Beecher Stowe in the Boston premiere of Kamala Sankaram's The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, all with the Boston Opera Institute.  She was slated to debut with the Ohio Light Company in Summer 2020 as the Princess Fantasia in Offenbach’s rarely performed Le Voyage dans la lune, but performances were unfortunately canceled due to COVID 19.  Previous roles also include Madame Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Le Feu/Le Rossignol (L’enfant et les sortilèges), Anne Truelove (The Rake’s Progress), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), and Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas).

​

Active in the competition circuit, in 2023 Kira was announced as a winner of the highly competitive Boston District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Council Auditions, was a stipend winner and Finalist of the New England Region, as well as a winner of the 2023 Career Bridges Grant Competition .  In 2022 Kira was the First Place Winner of the Camille Coloratura Competition, a Regional Finalist and winner of the North Carolina District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and the William W. Watkins Encouragement Award winner of the Annapolis Opera Competition.  Kira was the Third place winner in the 2021 Friends of Eastman Opera Competition,  Honorable Mention in the 2020 MI Opera Competition.  She has also been a Semifinalist in the 2022 Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition as well as the 2022 Jensen Foundation Competition. 

​

Justly at home on the concert stage, Ms. Kaplan has enjoyed singing as the soprano soloist in several concert works.  Most recently, she made her Boston Symphony Hall premiere as the soprano soloist in Brahms Deutsches Requiem under the baton of Tanglewood Festival Chorus conductor, James Barton.  Spring 2022 featured another professional premiere for Ms. Kaplan, where she sang as the soprano soloist in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with the Rhode Island Civic Orchestra and Chorus with conductor, Joshua Rhode. Her other concert work has included singing as soprano soloist in  Haydn’s The Seasons (Eastman Philharmonia/Eastman Rochester Chorus), Honegger’s King David, Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, and of course, Handel’s Messiah.

​

Eager to explore new works, Ms. Kaplan has had the joy of performing several.  She had the honor of debuting the lead role of Diana in the New England/Boston premiere of Jake Heggie’s opera If I were you in spring 2022 with the Boston Opera Institute.  Notably, in 2018, she had the honor of performing the role of Amy in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival as Young Artist, coaching the material directly with the composer himself while in residence.   In Fall 2022, she thoroughly enjoyed taking a further dive into modern opera with the role of Harriet Beecher Stowe in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace by Kamala Sankaram as a Young Artist with the Boston Opera Institute.

​

Ms. Kaplan has been a Young Artist with the Brevard Music Center (Janiec Young Artist), Ohio Light Opera, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, Villa Negra Opera Festival, Mannes Opera, Capitol Opera Harrisburg, Bethesda Summer Music Festival, and the American Singers Opera Project. She has served on the voice faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Furman University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Mannes School of Music, as well as a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music as of Spring 2023.

Future engagements include her debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Musetta in La Boheme (cover and access performances), both with Scottish Opera in their 2025/2026 season. 

National Opera Studio Scottish Opera The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Waterperry Opera Festival BU Opera Institute The New School