Jessica Rivera (born 1974) is an American soprano of Peruvian-American ancestry.

Life and career

Rivera is a 1996 graduate of Pepperdine University, and earned her Master of Music degree in 1998 from the University of Southern California's Flora L. Thornton School of Music. In the summer of 2001 she attended the Music Academy of the West summer conservatory program.[1] Rivera's early work included singing in the chorus of Los Angeles Opera (LA Opera).

Rivera has become particularly known for her performances of the music of contemporary composers, such as John Adams and Osvaldo Golijov. At LA Opera, she sang the role of Anastasia in the 2003 world premiere of Deborah Drattell's opera Nicholas and Alexandra.[2] Her Santa Fe Opera debut in 2005 was as Nuria in the revised edition of Golijov's Ainadamar.[3] She sang on the subsequent Deutsche Grammophon recording of the opera.[4]

Rivera has sung the European premiere of Kitty Oppenheimer in Doctor Atomic after Adams had rewritten and expanded the role from mezzo-soprano to soprano voice.[5][6] She continued the role at Lyric Opera of Chicago,[7] in 2007 and was the understudy for the 2008 production at the Metropolitan Opera.[8] She has sung several parts and roles in John Adams' works, including the soprano part in El Niño,[9] and the role of Kumudha in A Flowering Tree in the Peter Sellars production at the New Crowned Hope Festival in Vienna.[10] In 2012 Rivera has sung the solo role in the world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank's Holy Sisters with the San Francisco Girls Chorus and the Berkeley Symphony under the baton of Edwin Outwater.[11] She is currently a Professor of Voice at Miami University.

References

  1. ↑ "Alumni Roster". musicacademy.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  2. ↑ Bernard Holland (2003-09-17). "A Czarist Disaster As Musical Challenge". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  3. ↑ Bernard Holland (2005-08-01). "Haunted by the Deaths of Martyrs, a Century Apart". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  4. ↑ Richard Dyer (2006-05-28). "Recording liberates Golijov's Ainadamar". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  5. ↑ Anthony Fiumara (2007-06-12). "De bom slaat aan". Trouw (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  6. ↑ Tommasini, Anthony (17 December 2017). "Tweaking a Definitive Moment in History". The New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  7. ↑ Matthew Westphal (2007-04-19). "Jessica Rivera to Play Kitty Oppenheimer in Chicago Lyric's Doctor Atomic". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  8. ↑ Anthony Tommasini (2007-12-17). "Tweaking a Definitive Moment in History". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  9. ↑ Allan Kozinn (2007-08-20). "A Work Unbounded by Musical Categories". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  10. ↑ Anne Midgette (2006-11-16). "Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Love Blooms (Literally)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  11. ↑ Gilmore, Sue (25 April 2012). "Berkeley Symphony's injured conductor to be replaced by Edwin Outwater in season-closing concert". mercurynews.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
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