Kristin Gornstein
Praised as “a fine actress with a deep, spacious sound” [Parterre], American mezzo-soprano Kristin Gornstein brings her “rich-voiced mezzo-soprano” and “lines of an uncannily silky legato” [New York Times] to her work, singing both baroque and contemporary repertoire to equal acclaim. She recently enjoyed her Lincoln Center debut in the role of Wang Sheng in the China Now Music Festival’s production of the opera Painted Skin, and has most recently sung the title role in Dido and Aeneas with Opera Fort Collins, as well as Antonio in Hasse’s Antonio e Cleopatra with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado. Upcoming performances include the role of Shtumer Alef in the world premiere of Weiser/Kaplan’s The Great Dictionary of the Yiddish Language, and the world premiere of Tonia Ko’s Year of the Orchid song cycle at the Brooklyn Art Song Society’s New Music Festival with her duo, Vertex.
In 2020, Kristin established the duo Vertex with pianist Jeremy Chan, with whom she has enjoyed an active performing relationship since 2015. They have released two recordings; a self-produced EP Still, followed by a full-length album entitled Joy, Too, with Navona Records in 2024 featuring the works of contemporary composers exploring themes of joy through grief.
Kristin’s work as an oratorio and concert soloist includes, most frequently, the alto solos in Handel’s Messiah. She won third place in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio Competition at Carnegie Hall in 2018, and has since joined Sacred Music in a Sacred Space as a soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria, the NY Wind Symphony for de Meij’s 4th Symphony, Crescendo Baroque for Hasse’s oratorios Laudate Pueri and Miserere, and the American University of Beirut as the soprano II soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, among many other oratorio performances. She has toured with Mark Morris Dance Company’s acclaimed production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as an ensemble member, appeared at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic for Honegger’s Jean D’Arc au Bûcher, and has made numerous appearances in recital at Caramoor with Vertex. Kristin is a core roster member of the Brooklyn Art Song Society, the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale (San Francisco), and the St. Martin’s Chamber Choir (Denver).