Biography

Hailed as "magnetic" and a "powerhouse" (Boston Music Intelligencer), mezzo soprano Leslie Jacobson Kaye is equally at home on the opera and recital stages. She was recently recognized as a 2025 National Finalist for the American Prize in Voice Competition - professional art song/oratorio division. Recent performances include a sold out solo recital and masterclass "Sondheim Unveiled: A Musical Journey", Alto Soloist in Bach’s Cantata BWV 80 with the Fine Arts Chorale, and an evening of Yiddish music by Lazar Weiner. 

Leslie was also a 2023 winner of the Mixtape Recital Series Competition which included the world premiere of Oliver Caplan’s Woman in an Ermine Collar, and followed performances as Madeline Mitchell in Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Nursing Sister in Giacomo Puccini's Suor Angelica and participation in the Vianden International Music Festival.  

Her warm vocal timbre and command of the stage have opened the door to a wide variety of operatic roles over the years ranging from Hansel in Hansel & Gretel and Dorabella in Cosi Fan Tutte, to Nicklaus in Tales of Hoffman, Mercedes in Carmen, Florence Pike in Albert Herring and the Mother in Hansel & Gretel.

Early in her career Leslie performed as a participant in the Chautauqua Vocal Institute, as an apprentice artist with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and extensively throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic region with companies such as Queens Opera, Berks Grand Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Delaware Valley Opera Company, Mozart & Friends, Longwood Opera and Symphony Pro Musica. 

Leslie earned a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory as a member of the New England Conservatory and Boston Conservatory opera programs. Prior to that she received a B.S. from Skidmore College. Leslie has also made an impact as a senior fundraising professional for arts and educational institutions such as The Curtis Institute of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She was honored by the Boston Business Journal in 2014 as a WomenUp - Women of Influence and received the Cole Porter Arts Recognition Award in 2021 from Worcester Academy for her impact on the arts.