BIO
“…it was a pleasure to hear [an opera singer] with a unique tone… quality in her lower register… exciting coloratura… We are sure to be hearing more from this promising young artist.”
—Meche Kroop, Voce di Meche
Kinneret Ely is based in New York City and Tel Aviv. Initially recognized for her performances in soprano repertoire, she has since transitioned into the mezzo-soprano fach, building upon her extensive experience with roles that highlight her expressive lower register and agile coloratura. In March 2025, she will perform highlights from Händel’s Alcina as Ruggiero with the Jerusalem Lyric Opera Festival, a performance that will be recorded for Kol HaMusica, Israel’s national classical music radio station. She will return to the festival in July 2025 to sing the title role in Händel’s Rinaldo. This follows her recent success in July 2024, where she sang the title role in Giulio Cesare with the same company, solidifying her specialization in Händelian repertoire.
In April 2024, she performed Oberto in Alcina in Bucharest, in a co-production with the Jerusalem Lyric Opera Festival, Bucharest National Opera, and Teatrul Evreiesc de Stat, after first singing the role in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in July 2023. She previously sang Violetta in La Traviata with the festival in 2018.
She was a young artist with Teatro Grattacielo’s Camerata Bardi Vocal Academy in 2021, where she sang Ilia in Idomeneo alla Breve at the Rhodes International Festival. Her repertoire spans both soprano and mezzo roles, including Gilda in Rigoletto, Madame Cortese in Il Viaggio a Reims, and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
In addition to performing mainstage operatic repertoire, Kinneret curates and produces her own programs, including concerts of Jewish art songs, featuring works in Yiddish, Ladino, Hebrew, and Aramaic. She is a five-time semifinalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation + NYIOP International Vocal Competition (2024–2020) and a semifinalist in the Rochester International Vocal Competition (2020). Her YouTube channel has over 62,000 views.
Known for her versatility, she performs opera, musical theatre, art songs, Israeli folk songs, and pop, and is open to exploring additional genres. She sings in thirteen languages and provides vocal and diction coaching. Passionate about the arts’ future, she has worked on fundraising and subscription campaigns for the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, and New York Philharmonic, and remains engaged with young donor programs.
Beyond her singing career, she maintains an active lifestyle, training in yoga, pilates, and dance. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Special Honors from Hunter College, where she designed her own degree in languages, history, and literature through the Thomas Hunter Honors Program. She has studied Italian at the Società Dante Alighieri in Siena, French at the Alliance Française in Paris, German at the Goethe-Institut in Berlin, and Russian at the Derzhavin Institute in St. Petersburg.