Leah Dexter, a prolific, local Chicago artist, praised for her vocal and dramatic prowess, is a performer of diverse repertoire on the opera, concert and recital stages. A frequent performer with Chicago Opera Theater, Leah has premiered several roles with the company: Gloria in Freedom Ride, Night Maid in The Transformation of Jane Doe, Mistress Paddington in Quamino’s Map, Nelda in Taking Up Serpents, and Object 1 in The Weight of Light. Additional roles include Traveller/Attendant #4 in The Nose, Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring, Ib in Becoming Santa Claus, and Mercedes in Carmen.
Recent operatic engagements have included Siegrune in The Valkyries with Detroit Opera, Dimas’ Mother/Lupe in Frida with both Detroit Opera and El Paso Opera, and Bertha in Fire Shut Up in My Bones with Lyric Opera of Chicago. Recent soloist engagements have included Messiah with Illinois Philharmonic and Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, Masterworks of Brazil with the DePaul Community Chorus, Terra Nostra with the Northwestern Symphony Orchestra/Cedille Records, Elijah with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Petite Messe Solennelle with the Apollo Chorus and Elgin Master Chorale, The Ordering of Moses with Elgin Master Chorale, and recital appearances with LYNX Project and Glessner House of Chicago.
For the 2024-25 season, Leah returned to Chicago Opera Theater for two world premiere roles: the Herbalist in Remedios Varios and Susie “Mama Sue” McDonald in the critically acclaimed, She Who Dared, for which she was described as being “pointed and iridescent” (Chicago Tribune). She covered Girlfriend 3 in Blue at Lyric Opera Chicago, debuted with the DuPage Symphony for Rutter’s Feel the Spirit and re-joined the DePaul Community Chorus for Reicha’s Requiem.
Performance engagements for the 2025-26 season include Geter’s An African American Requiem, with debuts at the Ear Taxi Festival and the Richmond Symphony, Messiah with the Michigan City Orchestra, Ballad of the Brown King with First Congregational Church of La Grange, Frau von Luber in the Chicago premiere of Kurt Weill’s Die Silbersee with Chicago Opera Theater, Terra Nostra with Elgin Master Chorale, Bolcom’s Five Cabaret Songs for Mezzo and Band with Elmhurst University’s Wind Ensemble, and Bernstein’s “Jeremiah” Symphony No.1 with the Rockford Symphony.
Leah also continues her work with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Festival choruses, throughout the year.
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
