Kelley Rourke
Translator
Kelley Rourke is a librettist, translator and dramaturg. Her English adaptations of canonic operas have been hailed as ‘crackingly witty’ (Independent) and ‘remarkably well-wedded to the music’ (New York Times). Her work has been commissioned and performed by the Metropolitan Opera, ENO, WNO, Carnegie Hall, Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Met Live Arts, and Houston Grand Opera, among others.
Career Highlights
Libretti include Eat the Document, Lucy, and Stay (composer: John Glover); The Beekeeper (Wang Lu); Wilde Tales and And Still We Dream (Laura Karpman); The Jungle Book (with Kamala Sankaram); and Odyssey and Robin Hood (Ben Moore).
She was founding editor of Opera America magazine and a contributor to the New Grove Dictionary of American Music, and she has been a guest lecturer at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She is resident dramaturg for the Glimmerglass Festival and Artistic Advisor for Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative.
Last updated: 21st March 2023