Karen Slack

Hailed for possessing a voice of extraordinary beauty, a seamless legato and great dramatic depth, American soprano Karen Slack has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera where she made her debut in the title role of Verdi’s Luisa Miller. She has performed at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, and San Francisco Opera, among many, many others.

Ms. Slack has played the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s movie and soundtrack For Colored Girls, returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Serena in Porgy and Bess, and given recitals throughout the US. This season sees digital performances with Opera Philadelphia, Houston Grand Opera, and Minnesota Opera.

Ms. Slack created the role of Billie in the world premiere of six time Grammy Winning composer TerenceBlanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. In 2021, it became the first opera by a Black composer presented at the Metropolitan Opera in its entire 138 years. In 2016, Ms. Slack sang Emelda Griffith, mother of world champion boxer Emile Griffith, in the West Coast premiere of Blanchard’s Champion, workshopped in the Cincinnati Opera/CCM Opera Fusion program. In April 2023, Champion, too, will be presented by the Met.

This summer, Ms. Slack starred in Driving While Black with UrbanArias, now streaming online through October 31 at https://www.urbanarias.org/driving-while-black/. She performed with the Catalyst Quartet, and appeared with Mr. Blanchard at SF Jazz. In response to COVID19 cancellations, Ms. Slack launched a digital talk show, #KikiKonversations, which has garnered critical acclaim and many thousands of views.