Patricia Racette to OTSL

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) has appointed Patricia Racette as the company’s artistic director, effective October 1, 2025. She succeeds James Robinson, in the post from 2009 to 2024, now general and artistic director of the Seattle Opera. The internationally acclaimed soprano, no stranger to the company,  has headed OTSL’s Young Artist Programs since 2019, and made important appearances there in her early career, as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni in 1993 and Iphigenia in Iphigenia In Tauris a year later.

Subsequently she appeared on many of the world’s leading stages, among them the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Houston Grand Opera. She also originated roles in several world premieres, and is the recipient of such honors as the Richard Tucker Award, the Marian Anderson Award, and a 2017 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for the Los Angeles Opera’s production of The Ghosts of Versailles.

Racette first turned to directing in 2018, with a new production of La Traviata at OTSL. Since then, she has staged award-winning productions of Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine in 2021 and Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah in 2023 at the company.

Racette will report to General Director Andrew Jorgensen and closely collaborate with Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari as well as the artistic administration and production departments. In addition to curating the programming, casting, and execution of Opera Theatre’s festival season and year-round events, she will continue to lead the company’s Young Artist Programs.

The OTSL’s 50^th Festival Season extends from May 24 through June 29, offering new stagings of Die Fledermaus, Don Pasquale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the world premiere of This House by Ricky Ian Gordon, Lynn Nottage, and Ruby Aiyo Gerber.

James Robinson is Musical America's 2025 Director of the Year.