Rainelle Krause, a coloratura soprano who went viral for singing a signature aria while hanging upside down from aerial silks, has died after a short hospitalization, her family announced โwith immense sadnessโ Tuesday on social media. She was 37.
โRainelle was a force in our lives, a brilliant talent defined by grit, fearlessness, curiosity, intelligence, integrity, and resilience,โ the family said in a statement on Instagram. โOnstage, her voice matched the breathtaking power of her spirit. Offstage, she was a loving, caring soul whose vibrant energy lit up everyone around her. Our hearts are full from the years we shared, even as weโre shocked that her skyrocketing career was cut short.โ
The family gave no further details about the circumstances of her death but said they were grateful to have Krauseโs โpreserved performancesโ to revisit. They said they would be planning a celebration of life โat a later dateโ but wanted to share the sad news now with friends and fans.
โRainelle always gave her very best, pouring her heart into her art and those she loved,โ the family said. โThe best way we can honor her memory is by living her values every day. We encourage you to keep her memory alive by sharing her beautiful performances.โ
Krause, whose website dubbed the Queen of the Night in โThe Magic Fluteโ as her signature role, debuted in that role at the Metropolitan Opera over the holidays. She did the same last fall at Opera Atelier in Toronto.
โAlthough we knew Rainelle for only a matter of months, we will never forget her astonishing talent. We were awed by her bravery and daring and deeply moved by her willingness to draw all of us into her circle of friends,โ Opera Atelier said Wednesday on social media. โBeautiful, generous, talented and kind, Rainelle is irreplaceable and will always hold a unique place in our memories.โ
Born in Florida, Krause graduated from Indiana Universityโs Jacobs School of Music with a bachelorโs in music and a masterโs degree in music in vocal performance. The English National Opera said she trained with the Sankt Goar International Music Festival and Academy in Germany, the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles, Opera Las Vegas, the Taos Opera Institute and Opera Nova Costa Rica.
She performed with opera companies in Nashville and Atlanta, and in Texas she sang with the Dallas Opera, with symphony orchestras in Irving and Plano, and with a master chorale in Amarillo. She was set to debut with the Santa Fe Opera in May.
Internationally, Krauseโs โThe Magic Fluteโ performances included gigs in Berlin, Copenhagen and elsewhere. Roles outside of the Queen of the Night included the title role in โLucia di Lammermoor,โ the princess in โThe Snow Queen,โ Zerlina in โDon Giovanniโ and Pat Nixon in โNixon in China.โ
As for her viral acrobatic performances, those appeared to have been on hold in the year before her death.
โI canโt even begin to express how much I miss aerial work,โ Krause wrote last March on social media. โIโve been dealing with horrendous shoulder impingement for months, Iโve been in physical therapy since last summer, Iโm continuously learning new ways to attempt to build strength and fluency in order to support my VERY hypermobile joints.
โI am in pain most days,โ she continued. โBut Iโm not giving up, Iโm seeing incremental improvements, and I will fly again โ this time working in concert with the body I have, instead of forcing myself to โjust put in the workโ with all the wrong pathways.โ