Lauded as the leading Native American soprano in today’s classical music world, Dr. Kirsten C. Kunkle is a voting citizen of the Mvskoke (Muscogee) Nation. She has been hailed as an outstanding singing actress with a voice that has been described as beautiful, ethereal, powerful, fiery, and bewitching.  Recently, she made her Kennedy Center debut with PostClassical Ensemble singing Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s Hymn, and MvskokeLullaby with her daughter. She also recently created the role of Ipp’osi’ in the first Native American tribal language (Chickasaw) opera in the world premiere of Tate’s Loksi’ Shaali’.

Kirsten made her solo European debut with the Sofia Philharmonic in the role of Arabella in Johann Strauss II’s Blindekuh. She is also a NAXOS recording artist for the world premiere recording of Blindekuh, which was released in March 2020 to extraordinary reviews. Her most recent recording was debuting the role of Charlotte Corday in the world premiere of “Girondines,” which is a collaboration between Kirsten (libretto) and Sarah Van Sciver (music), available on all streaming services. She has created leading roles in numerous world premieres, including Shadow House, Jump the Moon, Opera Macabre: Edgar Allan Poe, By You That Made Me, Frankenstein, and Toowhopera. Recent oratorio solo work has included Carmina Burana, The Seven Last Words of Christ, Messiah, Considering Matthew Shepard, and the world premiere of Gwenyth Walker’s The Great Lakes Cantata. She has recorded extensively through the Comic Opera Guild, specializing in the works of Victor Herbert. Performances in the 2025 season include the East Coast premiere of Loksi’ Shaali, soprano soloist for Beethoven’s 9th symphony with Firelands Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of Tate’s American Indian Symphony with Oklahoma City Philharmonic, the world premiere of Danielle Jagelski’s Holy Ground with Voices of Ascension, and her role debut in the title role of Tosca with Mission Opera. 

Some of her favorite roles in the standard operatic repertoire are Agathe in Der Freischütz, the title role in Suor Angelica, Magda and the Foreign Woman in The Consul, Mimì in La bohème, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Iolanta and Brigitta in Iolanta, Zemfira in Aleko, Lisa in Pique Dame, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief, the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She has an Honorable Mention for The American Prize in Voice – Professional Art Song and Oratorio Division (Women), as well as being a two-time semi-finalist for The American Prize in Opera (Women). She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2014, and in the same year she was the Pennsylvania District National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Award winner. 

Kirsten commissioned and premiered sixteen original compositions, including one of her own, based upon the poetry of her ancestor and highly-acclaimed poet of the Native American Muscogee Nation, Alexander Posey. Her recordings are collected at the Library of Congress, the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution (NMAI), and the Merkel Area Museum in Merkel, Texas. Kirsten is included on the list of Classical Native American Artists and Musicians at the Smithsonian Institution’s NMAI and on the Molto Native Music list of performers.She is an active composer, with commissions featured on NPR’s All Things Considered and BBC Radio. Her most recent compositions are part of the upcoming album My Black Swan Songs from mezzo-soprano Molly Noori. 

Kirsten is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Wilmington Concert Opera, a women and minority led opera company in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a proud graduate of Bowling Green State University and University of Michigan. She is thrilled to be making her Wagner stage debut in “Der Ring des Nibelungen” with TUNDI. Please visit www.kirstenckunkle.com for more information.