Mikaela Bennett is a celebrated singer and actress praised for her artistic versatility on stage and in concert halls around the world. Described as “a provenly gifted stylistic shape shifter” (Opera Canada), Mikaela is equally at home performing with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall or starring in West Side Story (Maria) at the BBC Proms. She has premiered new compositions by leading composers including Michael Tilson Thomas, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Courtney Bryan, Michael Gordon, and Derek Bermel. Additional career highlights include her New York City recital debut at Alice Tully Hall, her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in West Side Story (Maria), Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath (Rosasharn) with MasterVoices at Carnegie Hall, and Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. Mikaela is a recipient of the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists and was also named one of WQXR’s “40 Under 40: A New Generation of Superb Opera Singers.”

In the 26/27 season, Mikaela makes her debut with Opera Philadelphia in Courtney Bryan and Daniel Fish’s Suddenly Last Summer (Catherine) and travels to Poland and Belgium to appear in Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding’s opera Iphigenia (Iphigenia Young). On the concert stage, she makes her debut with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra alongside the Aaron Diehl Trio and conductor Teddy Abrams in a program featuring André Previn’s Honey & Rue. Additional orchestral highlights include her debuts with the Houston Symphony for their Holiday Pops concerts, the Grant Park Music Festival for an evening of American standards, and the Buffalo Philharmonic for a program of Broadway hits. Mikaela will also appear alongside the Aaron Diehl Trio at The Society of the Four Arts and Emory University, in addition to giving a solo performance at The Cliburn.

Last season, Mikaela made her LA Opera debut in the world premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard (Richardis von Stade), followed by a return to the Prototype Festival in the same production. She also returned to Bard SummerScape for the world premiere of Courtney Bryan’s Suddenly, Last Summer (Catherine), an opera written for her voice and directed by Daniel Fish. On the concert stage, she appeared with Emerald City Music in a concert featuring the premiere of a new Molly Joyce song cycle, and made her Little Island debut with Aaron Diehl in a program of American standards as part of a concert series curated by Cécile McLorin Salvant. Mikaela appeared with MasterVoices in Fauré’s Requiem as well as the world premiere of Sins and Grace at Alice Tully Hall, performing Jason Robert Brown’s “Envy” and Heather Christian’s “Wrath.” In December 2025, she was featured in Holiday Pops programs with the Grand Rapids, Cincinnati, Toronto, and Edmonton Symphony Orchestras.

Mikaela Bennett has appeared as a featured soloist with leading orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in Wayne Shorter’s Aurora, the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Slatkin, and The Cleveland Orchestra under Jader Bignamini. She has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, and New World Symphony, appearing in the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’s Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind. Bennett has made multiple appearances at the BBC Proms at London’s Royal Albert Hall, including as Maria in the John Wilson Orchestra’s concert production of West Side Story and with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under Ilan Volkov. A frequent collaborator with conductor Ted Sperling, she has performed in Let ’Em Eat Cake as Mary Wintergreen and in Handel’s Israel in Egypt with Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall. Her orchestral engagements also include performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra,  San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

On stage, Mikaela made her professional debut in The Golden Apple (Penelope) at City Center Encores! She made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story (Maria), appeared in The Sound of Music (Maria) at The Glimmerglass Festival and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. At the Prototype Festival she appeared in Christopher Cerrone’s In a Grove (Leona Raines/Leona’s Mother) and created the title role in Michael Gordon’s Acquanetta, directed by Daniel Fish. Bennett originated the role of Norman in Dick Scanlan and Carmel Dean’s musical Renascence, as well as Esperanza in Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, written with her voice in mind and premiered at The Glimmerglass Festival.

Mikaela is featured on the GRAMMY-nominated recording of Zodiac Suite with Aaron Diehl and The Knights, conducted by Eric Jacobsen, and on the first complete recording of Carousel (Julie Jordan) with the Sinfonia of London under John Wilson.

Mikaela is a native of Ottawa, Canada, and a graduate of The Juilliard School.

Updated 10/15/26