Michelle Rice, soprano, has been praised for her “tones of pure gold” (The Washington Post), bringing a rich timbre and commanding stage presence to her performances. 

During the 2023–24 season, Rice appeared as the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Corigliano’s Fern Hill with the San Francisco Choral Society. She also premiered Iran, a new work for voice and percussion by Shahab Paranj, at UCLA. She performed as Brangäne in a concert presentation of Act II of Tristan und Isolde. 

Before transitioning to dramatic soprano, Rice gained widespread recognition for her work in the mezzo repertoire. Career highlights include Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw at the Kennedy Center under Lorin Maazel; Dorabella in Così fan tutte in a production staged by film director Jonathan Lynn; and Virginia Woolf in Dominick Argento’s Pulitzer Prize-winning monodrama From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, performed for the composer. She sang the mezzo-soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem alongside Sharon Sweet and James Morris. 

Rice’s recent online performances include Sieglinde in a filmed presentation of Die Walküre, produced by Dramatic Voices Program Berlin; a video performance of “To this we’ve come” from Menotti’s The Consul, featured in a program honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 88th birthday for the Smithsonian; and Paranj’s Rishe-e Dar Khak for Long Beach Opera’s 2020Songbook. 

As the artistic director and executive producer of Seven Sisters Productions, Rice commissions and premieres new works for voice. In 2021, the company commissioned and produced Song Gallery, a video recital featuring compositions by UCLA student composers. In 2022, Seven Sisters premiered the one-act chamber opera The Queen, My Lord, Is Dead, based on Lady Macbeth. Following the premiere’s success, a studio recording of the opera is set for an album release this year, and additional productions are in development for performances in the United States and Europe. 

Rice also created the title role in Clara, an opera by Robert Convery based on the life of Clara Schumann. The Washington Post praised her performance, stating, “Rice was… reflective and confident in both her singing and acting… [she] excelled at dramatic subtleties and pierced scenes with her presence and clarity of voice—especially compelling during revelatory biographical moments.” 

With more than 50 roles to her credit, Rice’s repertoire includes Herodias (Salome), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Carmen and Mercedes (Carmen), the Witch and the Mother (Hansel and Gretel), Sesto (La clemenza di Tito), Savitri (Savitri), Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites), Emilia (Otello), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana), and Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro). She has also performed in contemporary works such as Champion: An Opera in Jazz by Terence Blanchard and Juana by Carla Lucero. 

Rice has appeared with companies including West Bay Opera, Opera San José, Fresno Grand Opera, Opera Cleveland, Annapolis Opera, Opera Parallèle, New Orleans Opera, and Festival Opera, among others. 

On the concert stage, her performances include the soprano solos in Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Korngold’s Passover Psalm and the mezzo solos in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, Händel’s Messiah, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. She has performed with the Berkeley Symphony, Washington Concert Opera, Monterey Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall with MidAmerica Productions. 

Rice holds degrees from the University of Maryland Opera Studio (M.M.) and the University of California, Los Angeles (D.M.A.). 

 

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