Hailed with a voice that is “rich, forceful, and skillfully controlled,” and acting that is “truly compelling,” Cassandra Glaeser is an up-and-coming dramatic soprano to watch. Audiences are taken by her “powerful, mature sound,” which “soars” with “steady effectiveness.”

Ms. Glaeser recently debuted with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra as the mezzo-soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem. She will join the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra as a featured soloist for their 75th Anniversary Season performing famous opera arias by Wagner & Puccini and duets by Mascagni & Foster in February 2026.

In her studies at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University she was seen on the mainstage as Madame Larina in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Gertrude in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, the First Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Mrs. Van Daan in the world premiere of Shulamit Ran and Charles Kondek’s opera Anne Frank, and Mrs. Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.

Acclaimed for her interpretation of song, Ms. Glaeser prioritizes programming the works of marginalized composers like Augusta Holmés, Teresa del Riego, Nadia Boulanger, William Grant Still, and H. Leslie Adams in her recitals. Along with uplifting these marginalized composers, she frequently presents notable works like Beethoven’s “Ah! perfido,” Verdi’s Seste Romanze I, and Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder.

During her time as an Apprentice Artist with Sarasota Opera, Ms. Glaeser performed the partial roles of Aïda (Aïda), La Gioconda (La Gioconda), Marguerite (Faust), Leonora (Fidelio), Norma (Norma), Mina (Aroldo), and the Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia).

As an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, she made her professional debut as the Fourth Maid in Strauss’s Elektra and covered the role of Chrysothemis in that same production. She also performed the partial roles of Aïda (Aïda), Norma (Norma), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Agathe (Der Freischütz), Elsa (Lohengrin), and Amelia (Un ballo in maschera).

Ms. Glaeser was one of four soprano finalists in the 2016 Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center Finals at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She also received training as a Young Artist with the Seagle Music Colony, and the Sieur du Luth Opera Training Program respectively.

She received her Doctor of Music degree in Voice with a minor in Music Education from Indiana University, her Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Lawrence University.