Biography

Originally hailing from Las Vegas, mezzo-soprano Kylee Slee sings full time at the historic Meininger Staatstheater in Meiningen, Germany. She graduated magna cum laude with her BA in Vocal Performance in 2014 from Pepperdine University with additional concentrations in Italian, conducting, and composition. In 2016, she graduated with her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Boston University.

Kylee has appeared as the alto soloist in numerous concert works, but most notably in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, where she made her Boston Symphony Hall debut under the baton of Ken-David Masur. She also appeared as the alto soloist in The Mozart Requiem, The Vivaldi Gloria, and Handel’s Messiah.  She has performed as a soloist in concerts with members of both Emmanuel Music and Boston Camerata. 

Operatic roles span a variety of repertoire from early Baroque opera to world premieres. As a Young Artist at Opera NEO in San Diego, she sang the role of Pallade in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea.  With Center Stage Opera in Los Angeles, she appeared as the First Lay Sister in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. 

In 2015 Kylee made her debut with Boston University Opera Theater as Hannah Pitt in Angels in America, a performance that garnered these reviews: “Kylee Slee was at ease with the florid writing, and colored her mezzo-soprano to persuade in her role as an aged rabbi.” – Boston Classical Review. “As Hannah Pitt, Kylee Slee conveyed the peculiar mixture of Puritanism and maternal concern.” – The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Other roles at Boston University have included Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, broadcast live on the radio, and Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cover roles included Thelma in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening, and Madame de la Haltière in Massenet’s Cendrillon.

With Lowell House Opera, she sang the role of the Countess in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame.  The Boston Globe praised her acting, as “a suitably bad-tempered Countess.”  With MetroWest Opera (now MassOpera), Kylee did triple-duty as assistant conductor, cover for La Zelatrice, and a member of the chorus in Puccini’s Suor Angelica.  As an Apprentice Artist with the Nahant Music Festival, she created the role of Carabosse in the world premiere of Sleeping Beauty by Boston composer Francine Trester, for which The Boston Musical Intelligencer called Kylee Slee “a standout …as a wicked fairy with attitude and a big voice.”

Kylee has twice been a first round finalist in the Classical Singer Competition, a finalist in the Center Stage Opera Vocal Competition, and a semi-finalist in the James Toland Vocal Competition.  

In 2016, Kylee made her company debut as Mercédès in Carmen with Opera Las Vegas, under the baton of Gregory Buchalter.

Upon moving to Germany in 2016, Kylee joined the ranks of Opera Et Cetera, a touring concert opera group in the Rheingau region. She enjoyed performing over fifty concerts in venues such as vineyards, castles, and wine festivals with repertoire ranging from opera to musical theater to German pop.

In 2017, Kylee began singing full time at the Meininger Staatstheater. In Meiningen, her roles have included Edith in The Pirates of Penzance (in German), Hannele in Das Schwarzwaldmädel, Mercédès in Carmen, and Suzy in La Rondine.

Besides performing Mercédès, Kylee was given the opportunity to study the role of Carmen as a Studierauftrag with coaches from the Meininger Staatstheater. In cooperation with the Junges Theater (Youth Theater), Kylee abbreviated Carmen into a one-hour mobile production for schools - named L’amour de Carmen - where she played the title role.

Kylee is looking forward to her debut as Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer in Meiningen’s new production, which premieres in March, 2020.