Kelli O’Hara 

Tony Award-Winning Actress 

Kelli O’Hara has established herself as one of Broadway’s greatest leading ladies. The Tony Award winner, Emmy, SAG, and Grammy-nominated actress has appeared in twelve Broadway shows for which she has garnered eight Tony Award nominations. 

She won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Grammy, Drama League and Outer Critics nominations for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in The King and I. O’Hara’s other Broadway credits include Kiss Me Kate, The Bridges of Madison County, Nice Work if You Can Get It, South Pacific, The Pajama Game, The Light in the Piazza, Sweet Smell of Success, Follies, Dracula, and Jekyll & Hyde.

O’Hara received an Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in Topic’s hit web series, The Accidental Wolf, and can currently be seen on HBO’s The Gilded Age, which was nominated for a SAG award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for Season 2. Additional film and television credits include Showtime’s Master of Sex, 13 Reasons Why, Blue Bloods, All My Children, All the Bright Places, Peter Pan Live!, Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese’s The Key to Reserva, The Good Fight, N3mbers, and Car Talk. 

In 2015, she made history as the first artist to make the crossover from Broadway to Opera when she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Lehár’s The Merry Widow opposite Renee Fleming and in 2018 returned as Despina in Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte. She was last seen at The Metropolitan Opera in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’, The Hours, as Laura Brown, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Opera Recording.

O’Hara is a frequent performer on PBS’s live telecasts, The Kennedy Center Honors, and performs often alongside The New York Philharmonic and The New York Pops. Along with her two Grammy nominations, her solo albums, Always and Wonder in the World, are available on Ghostlight.

O’Hara starred in the critically-acclaimed, limited Broadway engagement of the new musical Days of Wine and Roses, which also garnered rave reviews during its Off-Broadway run at The Atlantic Theatre Company. In 2024, she won the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway Musical in addition to receiving Tony and Drama League Nominations for her role.

Most recently, she starred opposite Tom Hanks in the world premiere of the Off-Broadway play This World of Tomorrow and can be seen in the new CBS series Sheriff Country and Ryan Murphy’s new FX series The Beauty. This spring, O’Hara returns to Broadway in the revival of Fallen Angels opposite Rose Byrne.

Our biennial festival returns in April 2027, bringing the bright lights of Broadway to Asheville.

Asheville Amadeus is back for its sixth iteration, bringing two superstar co-headliners to Asheville: Kelli O’Hara and Aaron Diehl. Experience 10 days of performances, educational programs, special collaborations, and community events, inspired by the artistic energy of New York and the creative spirit of Asheville.

Support the Festival:

The Asheville Amadeus Festival is a celebration of creativity, collaboration, and community, bringing together artists and audiences from across WNC and beyond.

Ticket sales cover less than 35% of the Festival’s cost. Your support helps make this vibrant, multi-day experience possible while sustaining the partnerships and programming that define it.

Join the 1756 Society to deepen your connection to the Festival and enjoy exclusive access to special events and artist experiences. Contact our Development Team at development@ashevillesymphony.org or (828) 254-7046 to learn more.