“…comic showstopper…”
Originally from Central Texas, Kristen Marie Gillis is a rising Black Mexican-American soprano – sharing her passion for music on concert and opera stages.
Opening her 2025/2026 season, Ms. Gillis joins Charlottesville Opera as an Ader Emerging Artist, where she made her role debut as Frasquita/Carmen and Edith/The Pirates of Penzance. In September, she is excited to be back with the company as a soloist for the Rodgers & Hammerstein special, Oh What a Beautiful, Enchanted, Impossible Evening. In competition, Kristen is looking forward to competing on the West Coast as a Semi-Finalist in the Palm Springs Opera Guild Vocal Competition and as a District Competitor in the Idaho-Montana District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
In her 25/25 season, Kristen joined Finger Lakes Opera as a Tomita Young Artist. There, she covered the role of Florine in the world premiere of B.E Boykin and Jarrod Lee’s Two Corners, and made her role debut as Nella/Gianni Schicchi. Ms. Gillis soon joined Opera Orlando’s Studio Artist program, where she made her company debut as a featured soloist in Defiant Requiem: Verdi at Terezin - a benefit concert and presentation in honor of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida. Kristen was seen on stage throughout the season as Lady-in-Waiting/Macbeth, Noémi/Cendrillon, Sophie/Werther, Hero/Beatrice and Benedict, and made her principal artist debut as Lucy in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. In collaboration with the Timucua Arts Foundation’s Opera Festival, Ms. Gillis was featured in the scenes program, Mozart and More, as the First Lady/Die Zauberflöte, Norina/Don Pasquale, Elvira/I Puritani, Fiordiligi/Così fan tutte, and the title role of Norma.
Ms. Gillis opened her 23/24 season by making her professional debut as a Bonfil-Stanton Foundation Studio Artist with Central City Opera. Along with performing in the ensemble of all three mainstage productions, Kristen performed a Recitalist in the Lunch & a Song luncheon series, and was featured in multiple Short Works performances in scenes as Madeline/Face on the Barroom Floor, Fiordiligi/Così fan tutte, and La Contessa/Le nozze di Figaro. In the Fall, she joined Opera Ithaca’s Apprentice Artist program and made her role debut as the First Wood-sprite and Turnspit in Dvorak’s Rusalka.
In previous season, Ms. Gillis was seen on stage as Eliza/Dark Sisters, Countess Rosina Almaviva/Le nozze di Figaro, Second Lady/Die Zauberflöte, Lauretta/Gianni Schicchi, Mutter/Hänsel und Gretel, the title role of Suor Angelica, and performed in scenes as Carolina/Il matrimonio segreto, Marschallin/Der Rosenkavalier, Donna Anna/Don Giovanni and the title roles of Strauss’ Arabella and Floyd’s Susannah. On the concert stage, she has performed as the Soprano soloist in the Messiah/Händel, Mass in C minor/Mozart, Missa Sancti Nicolai/Hadyn, and Fauré’s Requiem. As an avid competitor, Kristen was named a winner of the Career Bridges Grant Awards, the Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, and the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition/Tulsa District, and the Gigli International Opera Scholarship Competition . She has also advanced as a Semi-Finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition, Opera Ithaca Edward M. Murray International Competition of Voice, and the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition.
Kristen currently resides in Austin, TX and continues her studies with mezzo-soprano, Kathryn Leemhuis. She is a proud first-generation college graduate, holding degrees from Temple University and Abilene Christian University. When she isn’t singing, she can probably be found working on a Lego set with too many pieces (surprisingly, she hasn’t lost a piece…yet) or binge-watching a series for the umpteenth time.