01/07/2025
Opera in the Heights (OH) is proud to announce the appointment of Kathryn Frady as the new Interim General Director who takes the helm overseeing the 2025-26 season by her predecessor Eiki Isomura who will continue with the company as its music director. Frady will bring her bold vision, collaborative spirit, and artistic excellence to its execution—while laying the groundwork for future seasons.
“Kathryn Frady brings a rare, fresh and comprehensive understanding of opera—as an opera producer and artistic director, acclaimed soprano, and visionary stage director,” said OH’s chair of the board Francisco Javier Izaguirre. “Her artistic depth and leadership promise an exciting new chapter for Opera in the Heights, while keeping opera accessible and artistically vibrant for our audiences and supporting young artists to develop their careers.”
Kathryn Frady has a wealth of opera experience from performing, directing, producing, teaching, and consulting. Frady continues to be a sought out soprano and director performing nationally and internationally to critical acclaim most recently working at companies such as Tulsa Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, and Mobile Opera. She began her work as an arts administrator as the Founder of Marble City Opera where she has been the Executive Artistic Director for 12 years. During her tenure at Marble City Opera she built the company from the ground up using ground breaking innovative performances and community-centric fundraising practices while focusing on providing opportunities for emerging artists. Creating intimate and accessible opera productions by producing new American opera and relevant performances of traditional operas in unique venues, Frady has been making opera inclusive and accessible since 2013. Within a very short amount of time, Frady has garnered community and industry acclaim through her entrepreneurial spirit and artistic vision for Marble City Opera, with ten Marble City Opera productions named Most Memorable Opera or Music Performance of their year. In 2016, Frady was named one of Ten Women in Knoxville who Make a Difference by The Knoxville Mercury, and recognized as a Trailblazer in 2019 by A Step Ahead Foundation of East Tennessee.
Frady was also the General Director & CEO of Opéra Louisiane from 2022-2024. During her tenure with Opéra Louisiane, Frady made a positive impact on the organization, steering it through a period of growth and artistic innovation. Under Frady's leadership, Opéra Louisiane achieved important milestones, including the introduction of critically acclaimed productions such as the world premiere of The Christmas Spider by Clint Borzoni and John de los Santos, and bringing lesser-known operas such as Saint-Saëns’ Hell’s Bell to site-specific locations including the Old State Capitol. Frady expanded the Young People’s Opera Program into more elementary schools throughout the city bringing opera to more than 5,000 children. Her work with grant writing and donor engagement also helped her successfully guide the organization’s budget coming out of the COVID pandemic.
Frady says, “As a native Texan, I’m looking forward to returning to Texas and continuing Opera in the Heights’ long history of providing opportunities for emerging artists and creating accessible intimate opera with high musical and theatrical standards.”
Kathryn has a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of North Texas, Certificates in Executive Women in Leadership and Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and a Fundraising Management Certificate from Boston University. Kathryn is an alumni of Opera America's prestigious Leadership Intensive.
