Natalie Lewis

Wielding a “velvet mezzo-soprano sonic cushion” (San Diego Story) and “sly lyricism” (Opera News), Natalie Lewis is a captivating presence on the rise. 

Lewis earned her bachelor’s in vocal performance from UMass while studying with William Hite. Since then, Lewis’ star has continued to ascend.

In April of 2023, Lewis was named one of six winners of the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (known previously as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions). Later that month, she made her Carnegie Hall debut, singing the alto solos in Marianna von Martines’ Dixit Dominus and Bela Bartok’s Three Village Scenes with the Cecilia Chorus of New York. This followed a first-place finish in the Houston Grand Opera Competition and her acceptance into the company of the renowned Bavarian State Opera.

According to Hite, the term “meteoric” is not an overstatement when describing Natalie’s career trajectory. “Her victories in Houston and the Met, and now her Carnegie Hall debut, all taking place in only a matter of weeks, are a testament to her ability to rise to the occasion,” said Hite at the time. “At only 24 years old, she’s at a point when most singers are still developing their skills, and yet she’s already on par with the more mature vocalists. She’s clearly on the verge of a major operatic career.”

In the 2023-2024 season, Lewis made her European debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin as a winner of the Opera Foundation scholarship competition. In Berlin, she joined the cast of Il trittico: Il tabarro (La Frugola), Suor Angelica (La Zelatrice), and Gianni Schicchi (Zita). In Munich, she performed in Madama Butterfly (Kate Pinkerton), Pique Dame (Governess), Suor Angelica (2nd Alms Sister & 2nd Lay Sister), Parsifal (Blumenmädchen), Respighi’s Lucrezia (La voce), Elektra (Die Vertraute), and La fanciulla del West (Wowkle).

In the 2024-2025 season, Lewis returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper as a second year Studio member where she sang Mary in Der fliegende Holländer, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Flora in Phyllis in Weinberg’s Lady Magnesia, an Echo in Hansel und Gretel, Die Gouvernante in Pique Dame, Murasame in the world-premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Matsukaze, a Water Nymph in Rusalka, as well as numerous concerts presented with the Opera Studio.

As a Guest, Lewis debuted at Seattle Opera, singing Georgia Gordon in Jubilee, the 3rd Lady in Die Zauberflöte with the Grand Teton Music Festival, and in concert, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Rafael Payare at the Caramoor Festival, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Bold Tendencies in London.

Of her 2023 debut with Merola Opera in the title role of The Rape of Lucretia, the San Francisco Classical Voice wrote, “Natalie Lewis was a regal Lucretia, her tone rich and her technique seemingly effortless.”

In the summer of 2022, Lewis debuted the role of Mistress Quickly in Falstaff with Bryan Terfel at the Aspen Music Festival, where she worked with Renée Fleming and Maestro Patrick Summers.

A native of Bedford, Mass., Lewis credits the UMass Vocal Studies program and Hite in particular for helping to develop her talents and guiding her through the arduous application process to attend Juilliard for her Master’s Degree. Part of the Department of Music & Dance, the Vocal Studies program provides a diverse and challenging course of study for emerging young musicians like Lewis. During her time at UMass, she distinguished herself through her participation in the UMass Chamber Choir and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and in productions like Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

“Going to UMass helped me to grow and develop as a performer and as a human being,” according to Lewis. “Becoming a performing artist takes so much time and dedication that it can become unhealthy if that’s your sole focus. I’m really happy that I fell in love with opera at a place where it wasn’t the only thing that surrounded me.”