Racette, Patricia
Racette, Patricia
Racette, Patricia , American soprano; b. Manchester, N.H., June 23, 1965. She studied jazz and music education at North Tex. State Univ., and in 1987 she was accepted into the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco. She gained experience at the San Francisco Opera, where she scored a fine success a Micaëla in 1991. After appearing as Musetta in Amsterdam in 1992, she sang Poulenc’s Blanche in Vancouver and portrayed Micaëla once again in Geneva in 1993. In 1994 she was engaged as Liù at the Welsh National Opera in Cardiff. She returned to Vancouver as Ellen Orford and sang Mimi at the San Diego Opera in 1995. On Dec. 28, 1995, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Musetta, and quickly established herself there in such roles as Mimi, Ellen Orford, Violetta, and Antonia. She returned to the San Francisco Opera in the latter role in 1996. On July 27, 1996, she created the title role of Emmeline Mosher in Picker’s Emmeline at the Santa Fe Opera. In 1998 she was honored with the Richard Tucker Award. She portrayed Micaëla once more in the Metropolitan Opera Pension Fund Gala in 1999. On April 14, 2000, she created the role of Love Simpson in Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree at the Houston Grand Opera. Her operatic engagements have also taken her to Paris, London, Vienna, Chicago, and various other cities. As a concert artist, she has sung with many U.S. orchs., and she has given recitals across North America.
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire