ST. LOUIS — Opera Theatre St. Louis announced Tuesday that Grammy-award winning soprano Patricia Racette will become the company’s new artistic director starting Oct. 1.

Soprano Patricia Racette has returned to S.F.'s Merola Opera Program, which helped launch her to stardom and where she is now mentoring up-and-coming artists.

Soprano Patricia Racette will become artistic director of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, filling a key management position of a company she has been associated with since her debut there in 1993.

Racette’s voice is definitely deeper and richer than Piaf’s, and her prolific vibrato added a certain operatic quality to the cabaret genre. Her effortless delivery felt fast, fun and exuberant.