Patricia Lynn Racette (born 1965) is an American operatic soprano. A winner of the Richard Tucker Award in 1998, she has been a regular presence at major opera houses internationally. Racette has enjoyed long-term partnerships with the San Francisco Opera, where she has been a regular performer since 1989, and with the Metropolitan Opera, where she has performed since 1995. Also active on the concert stage, Racette has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She also received the award for Best Opera Recording for her performance in the Los Angeles Opera's production of The Ghosts of Versailles at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Racette has particularly excelled in Puccini and Verdi operas. Among her most well-known roles are Violetta in La traviata; Blanche de la Force and Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites; both Mimì and Musetta in La bohème; the title heroine in Jenůfa; Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly; Alice Ford in Falstaff; Liù in Turandot; Desdemona in Otello; and Káťa in Káťa Kabanová. She has performed in several world premieres, including the title role in Tobias Picker's Emmeline (1996), and as Leslie Crosby in Paul Moravec's The Letter (2009) at the Santa Fe Opera. She appeared in the premiere of Picker's An American Tragedy (2005) at the Met, and portrayed Love Simpson in the premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree (2000) at the Houston Grand Opera. Early life and education Racette was born in Manchester, New Hampshire, in 1965, the middle child of three siblings. Her father was a union representative and distributor of Pepsi products in southern New Hampshire. Her mother, now deceased, was a part-time bank employee and homemaker. At the age of seven she relocated with her family to Bedford, New Hampshire, where she spent the rest of her youth. Both her parents were originally from Bedford. She began playing guitar at age 8. Self-taught, she began singing along with the guitar, which became the source of her interest in vocal music. She attended Manchester High School West, where she was very active in the school music program. Under the direction of Richard Maynard, she participated in regional chorale competitive festivals. Upon graduation from high school in 1983, Racette matriculated at the University of North Texas with the intent of studying vocal jazz.