Biography

Aiden (formerly "Kim") Feltkamp, mezzo-soprano, began their* musical life at the age of 5 playing a quarter-size cello.  They remained a cellist, participating in various orchestras, until they discovered their passion for opera at a performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in their first semester of college.  Now, they are an emerging professional singer who recently received their M.M. in Dawn Upshaw’s Vocal Arts Program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. They received their B.S. in Vocal Performance from Hofstra University.  While at Hofstra, they performed three roles in avant-garde productions directed by Isabel Milenski: Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Valetto in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea.

Professionally, Mx. Feltkamp most recently created the lead role of Elizabeth in the world premiere of Griffin Candey’s Sweets by Kate and sang Ottavia in a Baroque gesture production of Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. They will soon reprise their role as Elizabeth in the NYC Premiere of Sweets by Kate (Summer 2017) and participate in another NYC Premiere, Stephanie Leotsakos' OMG, in the role of The Son (Fall 2016). They have also performed in Divaria Productions' black-box L’elisir d’amore in Tuxedo Park and Delaware Valley Opera’s Hansel and Gretel as Hansel. They have studied with esteemed mentors Dawn Upshaw, Peter Sellars, and diction guru Nico Castel.  In 2009, they studied with soprano Edda Moser at the Mozarteum International Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria.  

Mx. Feltkamp loves to study and premiere new music.  They were the first female-born person to sing Pig-In-The-Sandwich-Boards in Oliver Knussen's Higglety Pigglety Pop! with the Bard College Conservatory of Music in March 2016 (NY Premiere). Besides their most recent work on the World Premiere of Sweets by Kate, they have created the role of the Old Drifter in Shawn Jaeger’s Payne Hollow and they have worked with world-renowned composer Joan Tower. They have also had the opportunity to work with upcoming composers Mitch McCarthy, Cynthia Wong, and Daniela DeMatos.  In 2013, they performed in First Songs, a concert of world premieres in Manhattan and Boston, with Dawn Upshaw and the singers of the Bard Vocal Arts Program. 

Mx. Feltkamp maintains a presence on the internet as the creator of OperaRox, an online community of opera lovers of all ages.  They have hosted over two dozen interactive live-shows watched by viewers from countries all over the world.  These live-shows serve to unify and educate the opera-loving public while promoting the art form. Most recently, OperaRox grew into an indie opera company, OperaRox Productions. Their first full production, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro under the company title of OperaRox Presents, sold-out. Their 2016-2017 season includes three new opera productions, including Handel's Alcina and a world premiere.

*Aiden is nonbinary using they/he pronouns