Biography
Mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert has built a career centered on contemporary opera and concert repertoire while maintaining fluency across traditional vocal literature. She also belongs to the classically oriented alternative rock ensemble The Knells.
Born October 1, 1974, Gaissert spent her childhood in Beaumont, east Texas, and received her diploma from Monsignor Kelly High School in 1992. Music entered her life early through repeated listening to her mother’s Olivia Newton-John recordings, and she initially considered paths in pop or musical theater. A decisive shift occurred when she prepared for a summer-camp lead by taking voice lessons, during which her instructor exposed her to art song. She pursued higher education first at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth and subsequently at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Her stage appearances have included the Metropolitan Opera, L.A. Opera, and Cincinnati Opera, together with orchestral engagements alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony. Among the parts she has undertaken are Siegrune in Wagner’s Die Walküre, the title role in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. She has also sung the mezzo solos in Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. In addition, Gaissert performs with The Knells, an alternative rock band that has toured as far as Portugal and issued multiple albums.
Contemporary music constitutes her most prominent focus. Among the premieres she has given are Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly Reed’s Today It Rains, presented by Opera Parallele in San Francisco during the 2018–2019 season; Kamala Sankaram and Rob Handel’s Looking at You in 2019–2020; and Robert Paterson’s Autumn Songs, delivered at Carnegie Hall with the American Modern Ensemble. In 2021 she issued her first solo recording, Home, which contains songs for voice and chamber ensemble by eight living composers.
Born October 1, 1974, Gaissert spent her childhood in Beaumont, east Texas, and received her diploma from Monsignor Kelly High School in 1992. Music entered her life early through repeated listening to her mother’s Olivia Newton-John recordings, and she initially considered paths in pop or musical theater. A decisive shift occurred when she prepared for a summer-camp lead by taking voice lessons, during which her instructor exposed her to art song. She pursued higher education first at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth and subsequently at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
Her stage appearances have included the Metropolitan Opera, L.A. Opera, and Cincinnati Opera, together with orchestral engagements alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Dallas Symphony. Among the parts she has undertaken are Siegrune in Wagner’s Die Walküre, the title role in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. She has also sung the mezzo solos in Verdi’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. In addition, Gaissert performs with The Knells, an alternative rock band that has toured as far as Portugal and issued multiple albums.
Contemporary music constitutes her most prominent focus. Among the premieres she has given are Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and Kimberly Reed’s Today It Rains, presented by Opera Parallele in San Francisco during the 2018–2019 season; Kamala Sankaram and Rob Handel’s Looking at You in 2019–2020; and Robert Paterson’s Autumn Songs, delivered at Carnegie Hall with the American Modern Ensemble. In 2021 she issued her first solo recording, Home, which contains songs for voice and chamber ensemble by eight living composers.
Albums
Singles
