Biography

Hailing from Somerset, New Jersey, Soprano Amani Cole-Felder is a third year Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist. She will make her Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut as Lucy/Lovie Alexander in the Damien Sneed re-imagined version of Joplin’s Treemonisha. Amani will also cover the title role of Susannah and perform in the Center Stage Concert with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra during her time as an OTSL Gaddes Festival Artist.

Ms. Cole-Felder recently performed the roles of Angelica/Fiordiligi in the North American premiere of Roberto S. Perino’s Furiosus; in collaboration with New York University’s Casa Italiana under the direction of Robert Tweeten. Earlier this season, she performed the role of Woman of Crete in Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera. In the Summer of 2022, she performed in the City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage recitals and concluded her summer performances with the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Aspen Opera Theater under the direction of Dame Jane Glover.

During her tenure as a Met Opera Lindemann Young Artist, Amani’s scene performances and role studies include: Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Liù in Turandot, Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking, Mary in Highway 1, U.S.A., Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Musetta in La Bohème.

In 2021, Amani made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess. She was a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Theresienmesse and Mozart’s Sparrow Mass with the New Choral Society. Amani previously performed the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Aspen Opera Theater in 2021 as an inaugural Renée Fleming Artist Fellow, under the direction of Patrick Summers. In Spring 2021, she was a soloist in Brahms Requiem and Williams’ Serenade to Music with the Capital Singers of Trenton.

While completing her graduate studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, she performed the title role in Suor Angelica, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte and in scenes from La Bohème, Florencia en el Amazonas, and Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Previous roles include the Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Amani was awarded a career grant from the 2023 Pasadena Vocal Competition. She won second place in the 2022 Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. In 2020, she was a finalist in the Met Opera National Council Auditions Eastern Regionals, a semi-finalist in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition as well as an encouragement award recipient in the Giulio Gari Competition.

Ms. Cole-Felder holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music.