Kara Morgan

projects that broaden minds and inspire others. Her dedication to studying the art, languages, and characters of opera has been showcased on stages across the United States. Career highlights include apprenticeships with the Charlottesville Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Merola Opera programs; mainstage credits with Minnesota Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, and Pacific Opera Project; and recognition from the Jensen Foundation, D'Angelo Young Artist Vocal, Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice,  Schubert Club and Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competitions.

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As a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera in the 2024-25 & 2025-26 seasons, Kara debuted as a "scene-stealing" Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and a "remarkably compelling" Tigrana in a rare performance of Puccini's Edgar. She also created the role of Jane in the world premiere of B.E. Boykin's My Name is Florence and reprised Dorabella in Così fan tutte. In addition to her mainstage assignments, Kara was featured on several MNOp+ recital programs performing works like Santoliquido's I canti della sera, Korngold's Abschiedslieder, and a solo half-recital of Florence Price songs.

 

In Spring 2026, Kara made a role and company debut with Opera Tampa as Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, made debuts as the mezzo soprano soloist in Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra and with the Madison Symphony Orchestra as the alto soloist in the Finale of Beethoven's Symphony No.9, and was named a Winner of the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition and a Co-Winner of the Facing Forward Grant for the best performance of a 21st-century aria in the 26th annual Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. After spending the first half of the summer with Charlottesville Opera as an Ader Emerging Artist, Kara was named a Co-Winner of the inaugural Joanne Blakemore Rising Artist Award, recognizing outstanding talent and distinguished character.

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The 2026-27 season begins with a mainstage debut at Sarasota Opera as Hansel in Hansel & Gretel, a debut with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra as the mezzo soprano soloist in Mahler's Symphony No.2, and a return to the Fox Valley Symphony for Beethoven's Symphony No.9.

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Recently, Kara graduated from the Master of Musical Arts program at Yale University, where she was a member of the opera studio. Roles performed include Cherubino, Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Charlotte (Werther), Isolier (Le comte Ory), Lucretia, Mother Goose (The Rake's Progress), and Anna 1 in Kurt Weill's Die sieben Todsünden. As a winner of the 2023 Woolsey Concerto Competition, she enjoyed the privilege of performing Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Yale Philharmonia. Before graduation, she placed first in the D'Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition and made her title role and company debut with Salt Marsh Opera in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. ​She joined the world-renowned Merola Opera program in 2024, singing scenes from Cendrillon and Werther.

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Kara returned to Sarasota Opera as a Resident Artist for the 2021 winter festival as pandemic restrictions began to ease. During this residency, she appeared as Mercury in Purcell's Dido & Æneas and sang in Resident Artist productions of Dido (in the title role) and Rossini's one-act farce, Il signor Bruschino (as Marianna). In October 2021, Kara made her west coast and company debut with Pacific Opera Project as Hansel in Hansel & Gretel. The following April, she was home in Minneapolis debuting the title role in The Rape of Lucretia with An Opera Theatre.

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Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kara was a Young Artist with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, debuting the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Mercédès in Carmen with the company. Following the residency in Fargo, Kara covered Dorabella in Mill City Summer Opera's summer production of Così staged in the Mill City Museum ruins in Minneapolis. She also sang with Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN covering the the title role of Offenbach's La belle Hélène, before returning to Fargo Moorhead Opera to make her mainstage and role debut as Hansel.

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Kara earned her Bachelor of Music Degree from Drake University and her Masters in Voice Performance at the New England Conservatory. As a student, she was heard as Mrs. Soames (Rorem's Our Town), Katisha (The Mikado), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmélites), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), and Ottone (Agrippina).

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A lover of art song, Kara enjoys programming lesser-heard and contemporary works with a focus on songs written by and about women. Past recitals have included repertoire by Montsalvatge, Debussy, Mahler, Hahn, Heggie, Margaret Bonds, Mel Bonis, Clara & Robert Schumann, Alaina Ferris, and Cheryl Frances-Hoad, among others. In Summer 2022, Kara partnered with longtime collaborator Carson Rose Schneider and Minnesota nonprofit organization, OOPS MN (Opera-Oriented Project Sponsorships), to create Ladies, Lyrics, & Lagers: a recital that was taken on tour to three popular Twin Cities breweries with the purpose of promoting song sets by two living women composers based in Minnesota, Linda Tutas Haugen and Edie Hill, and bringing well-sung art to a more relaxed, casual setting. In August 2026, Kara joined friend and pianist Jared Mikach on Pianistico: An Art Song Exploration, a recital series benefitting four nonprofits local to Minnesota. 100% of proceeds from this particular recital went to SHE Shed (Supporting Healthy Escapes), a nonprofit based in the Twin Cities dedicated to supporting women escaping domestic abuse. The recital featured song cycles by Libby Larsen, Anna Cazurra, and Irma Urteaga.

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Kara also enjoys collaboration in choral and orchestral works, appearing as a soloist with the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, the Bach Roots Festival, the CBA Orchestra, the Minnesota Saints Chorale & Orchestra, the Drake Choir, and singing Alcibiades and Phaedrus in an unconducted performance of Erik Satie's Socrate with the New England Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in Boston's historic Jordan Hall.

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Kara is based in Minnesota with her partner and dogs. Outside of music, she enjoys hiking, crafting, and cooking. Her name can be found in the credits of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) as a Quality Assurance playtester.