Praised for her ‘shimmering mezzo-soprano' and a voice of ‘pure vocal gold’, American mezzo-soprano Kayleigh Decker is quickly garnering an international reputation for her artistry and versatility in opera and on the concert platform.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include house and role debuts as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera, Belle in Philip Glass’ La Belle et la Bête at Atlanta Opera, and Zephyrus in Die Grosse Stille at Hamburg State Opera, as well as a return to Cincinnati Opera as Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen. On the concert platform, Decker will perform in a gala concert with Opera Edwardsville, a recital of Scandinavian song with Cincinnati Song Initiative, and will return to Copenhagen as the alto soloist in The Messiah with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Mogens Dahl.

Last season, Decker made a series of exciting debuts including her role debut as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Lyric Opera of Chicago, a house and role debut as Wellgunde in Wagner’s Das Rheingold at Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and a house debut as cover Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at The Metropolitan Opera. On the concert platform, Decker returned to Chicago, Copenhagen, and Seattle to perform Handel’s Messiah with The Apollo Chorus, Mogens Dahl and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Seattle Symphony. She also sang Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D at Washington National Cathedral with the Baltimore Symphony and the Cathedral Choral Society and Mahler 2 with the Colburn Orchestra conducted by Earl Lee. In recital, Kayleigh returned to SOKA Performing Arts Center for Mahler’s Rückert Lieder and took part in the ‘Beyond the Aria’ recital series at the Harris Theater, Chicago.

In previous seasons Decker made a house debut for Welsh National Opera as Dorabella in a new production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte conducted by Tomáš Hanus, returned to Cincinnati Opera for staged performances of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio and covered Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola for Boston Lyric Opera. On the concert platform Kayleigh made debuts with the San Francisco Symphony and Orchestre de Paris for Stravinsky’s Les Noces conducted by Esa Pekka Salonen, Mozart’s Requiem with the orchestra of Welsh National Opera conducted by Tomáš Hanus, and her debut with the Grant Park Music Festival for Mahler 8.

Other recent highlights have included her house and role debut as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte for Dallas Opera, Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina with Les Violons du Roy conducted by Jonathan Cohen, her role debut as Isolier in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory for Lyric Opera of Chicago, described as “The finest overall performance of the afternoon” by the Chicago Classical Review, as well returning to Cincinnati Opera in her role debut as Alisa in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

As an ensemble member of The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Kayleigh’s roles included her debut as Second Cretan Woman in Mozart’s Idomeneo, Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and a number of notable cover roles, including Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Rosina in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Laura in Verdi’s Luisa Miller and Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni conducted by James Gaffigan.

A passionate song interpreter, she was named one of Caramoor’s 2018 Schwab Vocal Rising Stars and was a participant in the inaugural season of Renée Fleming’s SongStudio at Carnegie Hall. She has given recitals produced by the Cincinnati Song Initiative, Pelican Hill recital series and recently performed a solo recital at Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Cultural Center.

In 2019, Kayleigh was the recipient of three prestigious scholarships: the Luminarts Fellowship, first place in the Musicians Club of Women Scholarship Competition, and a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. Further accolades include first place in the Three Arts Scholarship Fund Competition and The Macdowell Society Scholarship Award in Cincinnati, second place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions-Great Lakes Region, first place in the CCM Corbett Competition, and the Encouragement award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions-Cincinnati District in 2016.

Kayleigh was a young artist at the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the Utah Festival Opera. Other training programs include the Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy, and Oberlin in Italy. She graduated with honors from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She also participated in the first of Joyce DiDonato’s Masterclass Series at Carnegie Hall, streamed live on Medici.tv. Kayleigh began her musical studies at the age of four in Suzuki violin lessons, and continued her instrumental studies later with the bassoon. She currently resides in California.