Kyle Ketelsen Keeps Low Profile Home Life In Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Introverted-Extrovert: Kyle Ketelsen as Méphistophélès 
in a 2013 production of Faust at Opernhaus Zürich is a
 far cry from his quiet life in Wisconsin. 
(Photo: Tanja Dorendorf)

"He’s performed on stages across the world singing in iconic roles in Carmen and Don Giovanni but if you're a neighbor of Sun Prairie resident Kyle Ketelsen, you would never know. While living the life a suburban dad of two, he’s pretty low key. On a warm summer day when he needs to practice, the house windows remain shut and Ketelsen jokes that he sings into a pillow or into a clenched fist rather than disturb the peace of the suburbs. 'I mean who wants to hear my voice blaring through their windows, they might be taking a nap,' Ketelsen says. And yes, Ketelsen is an opera star. The American bass-baritone has hit some of the most famous stages in the world-the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, among others. He’s flexed his vocal cord around roles as varied as Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro and Escamillio in Carmen. So imagine Ketelsen’s 'work day'— the glamorous toreador, Escamillio, woos the gypsy temptress Carmen away from her naive soldier love, José. Unable to bring her back to his heart, Jose kills Carmen in a jealous rage. So for Ketelsen, work is not just another boring day at the office. For 16 years,

Ketelsen has been forging a path in the operatic world but it came to him as an unlikely profession. The Clinton, Iowa native grew up in a home where his mother found creative ways to expose her children to music—they all played instruments and the record player was often spinning the Beatles, Beach Boys and Neil Diamond. The young man had aspirations of flying