Tichina Vaughn

Grammy Award winning American mezzo soprano Tichina Vaughn has established an important presence among the world’s leading opera houses, concert halls and theaters. As an outstanding singing-actress versatile in opera, operetta, musical theater, and jazz, Vaughn continues to gather both popular and critical acclaim. Ms. Vaughn began her operatic career as a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program directly after receiving her bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

The 2022-2023 season is full of debuts for KS. Vaughn. She opens the season with her Utah Opera debut as Mary in Der Fliegende Hollander. Further season debuts include Opéra National de Lyon as The Old Lady in Candide, with Fort Worth Opera as Amneris in Aida and as Monisha in Joplin’s Treemonisha at Opera Theater St. Louis.​

For the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Vaughn returns to the Metropolitan Opera as The Hostess of the Inn in Boris Godunov, Maria in Porgy and Bess, and Serving Woman 1 in Elektra. She also debuted with Boston Lyric Opera in Terence Blanchard’s Champion as Emelda, and in the summer of 2022  joined the Cincinnati Opera as Amneris in Aida. On the concert stage she appears with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester at the Lucerne Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival as Maria in Porgy and Bess, as well as with the Landmarks Orchestra Boston in Beethoven Symphony No. 9; and the world premiere of “Many Mansions” by Diane White-Clayton.​

During the COVID-19 impacted 2020-2021 season Ms. Vaughn made her debut at Theater an der Wien as Maria in Porgy & Bess, returned to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Porgy and Bess as Lily (performed), which opened the season.

In the 2018-19 season, Ms. Vaughn debuted at English National Opera and Dutch National Opera as Maria in a new production of Porgy and Bess followed by a return to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Dialogues des Carmélites with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Additionally, Vaughn participated in the world premiere of Caruso a Cuba with Dutch National Opera and in Cavalleria Rusticana with the NDR Philharmonie Klassik Open Air.​

Highlights from Ms. Vaughn’s 2017-18 season include her critical success as Herodias in Salome and Brigitta in Die tote Stadt at the Semperoper Dresden, followed by her return to the Metropolitan Opera for her role debut as the First Maid in Elektra with Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She subsequently made further debuts as The Mother in Dallapiccola‘s Il Prigioniero under Erik Nielsen and with the State Opera Hannover as Begonia in Henze’s Der Junge Lord.