Rising stars take different paths. Some win competitions, others work their way up, while others get lucky by making a last-minute debut. Kirsten Chambers is having the season of her life, starting with a Metropolitan Opera debut that made headlines when she replaced Patricia Racette as Salome earlier this fall. Now, following a series of debuts, including one at Carnegie Hall, Chambers is headlining a highly anticipated New York premiere.

The soprano is performing the role of the Angel in the New York City Opera’s new production of Péter Eötvös’s “Angels in America.” The work is best known as a play that won the Tony award, but it also became an opera that has made the rounds worldwide.

Chambers has already scored rave reviews for her work in the opera, which had its premiere on Saturday. Critics said, “Kirsten Chambers digs into her swooping, penetrating pronouncements,” while others noted, “She brought much charisma to a tricky, symbol-spouting character.”

Chambers has been working her way up for a few years, singing with the Bronx Opera, Arizona Opera, Opéra de Renne, Opera Hong Kong, Opera Saratoga, and American Opera Projects, among others. She has delved into the dramatic repertoire in roles including Leonore in “Fidelio,” Ariadne in “Ariadne auf Naxos,”  Elsa in “Lohengrin,” Nedda in “Pagliacci,” and the title role of “Tosca.”

Aside from her career as a singer, she has been active in supporting smaller regional companies and has been working alongside the New Amsterdam Opera to try and bring more concert operas to the New York stage.

For those unable to see Chambers at New York City Opera, the soprano will perform the title role of “Salome” with Florida Grand Opera and is bound to have even more high-profile engagements thereafter.