[5] He debuted with the Santa Fe Opera on 4 August 2015 in the title role of Verdi's Rigoletto,[8] his singing described by Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times as "glamorous and persuasive, his roomy voice smoky, with bronzed tenorial resonances as its rises.
[12] Kelsey sang the role of Germont in La traviata at the Metropolitan Opera on 4 December 2018, a new production and the first appearance of Yannick Nézet-Séguin as the Met's new music director.
Kelsey's hefty, mahogany-colored baritone is ideal for Germont's music, and his shrewd, dignified command of the drama made his Act II meeting with Violetta eminently affecting..."[13] The fourth performance with this cast (15 December) was simulcast as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series.
[17] Kelsey sang the title role of Rigoletto for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera on 31 December 2021, in a new production by Bartlett Sher with sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Catherine Zuber.
Anthony Tommasini, music critic of The New York Times, wrote: "The baritone Quinn Kelsey, a Met stalwart for over a decade, had a breakthrough as the jester Rigoletto, part of the retinue of the lecherous Duke of Mantua.
"[18] F. Paul Driscoll of Opera News reported: "Center stage was the prodigious Quinn Kelsey, in his first local performance as Rigoletto, a role he has previously sung with ten major companies in the U.S. and Europe.
Kelsey was superlative, fully realizing Rigoletto's sharp wit, titanic anger and paternal tenderness—and singing with the handsome, burnished tone, incisive prosody and charismatic presence worthy of a true Verdian.
[20] Kelsey made his debut in the title role of Verdi's Macbeth on 28 April 2023, with the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto in a production by David McVicar conducted by Speranza Scappucci.
Alex Baker of Washington Classical Review wrote: "The special quality that Quinn Kelsey brings to Verdi's signature baritone roles needs little introduction at this point.
Although he never struggled with vocal projection, he favored lyricism throughout, shading his melting legato singing with suggestions of age and indecision rather than barking lines to convey Boccanegra's mounting psychological distress.
With the assistance of Fernand Ruiz's costumes, he demonstrated his character's evolution from simple corsair to grand ruler, and throughout the opera's later acts, he reminded the audience that Boccanegra is still a fundamentally good man at his core.