EMILY CASEY
BIOGRAPHY
Praised for her “soaring coloratura” and “wonderful instrument and presence,” American soprano Emily Casey has been acclaimed for her “radiance and vocal consistency throughout her range,” “musical lyricism,” and “poignancy and power.” Her repertoire spans opera, operetta, musical theatre, and the concert stage, with performances ranging from bel canto and contemporary opera to Gilbert and Sullivan and musical theatre.
Casey kicked off the 2025–2026 season with a return to her musical theatre roots as Fiona in Brigadoon under the baton of J. Ernest Green in her home state of Maryland, where shortly thereafter she made her debut as Valencienne in The Merry Widow with Maryland Opera. Casey then traveled to Busseto, Italy, where she was the only American invited to participate in the esteemed Voci Verdiane Competition. A series of concerts on the East Coast of the United States was followed by a revival of her role as Miss Silverpeal in Mozart’s The Impresario at Opera Delaware Studios. She closed out the season with the Utah Festival of Opera and Music Theater, where she performed the leading roles of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Martha Jefferson in 1776. Utah Arts Journal praised her Mabel as “radiant...possessing the soaring coloratura soprano the role demands,” noting that Casey “makes the difficult music sound effortless while maintaining Mabel’s warmth and charm.”
Her jam-packed 2024–2025 season centered largely around operatic and concert work, including her role debut as Miss Wadsworth in Albert Herring with Opera Baltimore, Elsie Maynard in The Yeoman of the Guard, and reprised roles as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and Elle in Poulenc’s vocally and dramatically demanding La voix humaine, both with Bel Cantanti Opera. Her performance as Elsie was praised by Opera Today for its “radiance and vocal consistency throughout her range”, while WYPR highlighted the role’s emotional breadth, noting that Casey’s character had to express “humor and longing and sadness.” Opera
Today also praised her Juliette for her “wonderful instrument and presence,” writing that she “embodied Juliet’s character” and elicited “thunderous cheers and applause” with her “sparkling rendition” of Je veux vivre. Her concert appearances included Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and a return to Live Arts Maryland as the soprano soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion.
In the 2023–2024 season, Casey made her debut with Opera Baltimore, where, as a cover for Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, she was granted the opportunity to perform the role in its entirety. Also with Opera Baltimore, she debuted the role of Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario. She made two role debuts in the Washington, D.C. area as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Michaëla in Carmen, and was also the guest soloist in Die Fledermaus, where she performed Strauss’ Frühlingsstimmen dressed and choreographed as Cher. Other operatic and theatrical credits include Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Musetta in La Bohème, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Gulnara in Il Corsaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute, and Gianetta in The Gondoliers. Of her Musetta, Opera Canada wrote that Casey was “a red-haired vixen with a sparkling voice,” while Maryland Theater Guide called her Konstanze a “standout performance,” noting that “her voice soars.”
Equally at home in the concert repertoire, Casey has appeared as a soprano soloist with orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. She made her debut with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and has been featured as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with numerous companies along the East Coast of the United States. She joined Maryland Lyric Opera as the soprano soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and was honored to solo in Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 under the baton of Simeone Tartaglione. In 2024, she debuted a song cycle entitled The Ancient Yule, composed by J. Thomas Mitchell, with the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra led by Glenn Quader. In 2023, she appeared in concert with His Majesty’s Royal Marines Band Plymouth and the U.S. Naval Academy Band in their Distinguished Artist Series. Reviewing Casey in concert of Knoxville: Summer of 1915, the CUA Tower praised her “poignancy and power,” noting that she “stood her own against the weight of the orchestra.”
Active on the competition scene, Casey’s recent honors include being a semi-finalist in the Voci Verdiane Competition (2025) and the McCammon International Voice Competition (2025), First Place Winner of the London Classical Music Competition (2024), a finalist in the Omaggio Maria Callas International Vocal Competition (2024), and a semi-finalist in the George & Nora London Foundation Competition (2024). Her additional competition honors include Third Place in the Alexander & Buono Foundation International Vocal Competition (2023), semi-finalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation International Competition (2022), and semi-finalist in the MIOpera Vocal Competition (2022).
A native of Bowie, Maryland, Casey holds a Master of Music from The Catholic University of America. She divides her time between Washington, D.C. and London, England, and continues to develop her career in the United States and internationally.
