Grammy Award-winning Mezzo Soprano Renée Rapier brings her “dark, velvety mezzo and smoothly controlled, unfailingly eloquent phrasing to match” (Opera News) as well as a “razor-sharp focus” (Bay Area Reporter) to the operatic stage.
Ms. Rapier is a seasoned and versatile performer having sung with companies across the country. Notable opera appearances include her Wagnerian debut as Grimgerde in San Francisco Opera’s visionary Ring Cycle, role debuts as both Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Steamboat, and a critically-acclaimed debut as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Opera San Jose, a return to LA Opera singing Cherubino in both Le Nozze di Figaro and John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Opera, Opera San Jose, and Tulsa Opera.
Along with the beloved standards of the opera world, Renée has also been a part of innovative and daring projects at the cutting edge of the art form. She was a soloist in a new production of John Cage’s Europeras 1&2 with the LA Phil in collaboration with The Industry and MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant winner Yuval Sharon, sang Mercédès in Calixto Bieito’s provocative production
of Carmen at San Francisco Opera, soloist in Frank Martin’s rarely performed Le Vin Herbé, as well as concerts with innovative Mise-en-scene Studios, Dinah and Rose in a groundbreaking double bill of Trouble in Tahiti and Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus with Opera Parallèle and most recently the world premier of Abraham in Flames written by Niloufar Talebi and composer Aleksandra Vrebalov.
Ms. Rapier is also an accomplished chamber and orchestral soloist, having recently sung Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Peninsula Symphony, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony, as well as returning for a second year to the prestigious Newport Music Festival to sing a number of concerts from Verdi to musical theatre. In her 2019-2020 season she embarked on a series of recitals singing Judit in Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle and had recital debuts with Winsor Music’s Chamber series and Festival Opera’s Artist Recital Series. She has also appeared with the Seoul Philharmonic, the LA Phil, the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Ravinia Festival.
After receiving degrees in both voice and viola from the University of Northern Iowa, Ms. Rapier participated in several prominent training programs including Chautauqua Opera and the Merola Opera Program. In 2011, she was chosen to join LA Opera’s Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program where she made her professional debut as Stephano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Soon after, she joined the prestigious Adler Fellowship at the San Francisco Opera where she covered and sang a number of roles including Giovanna in Rigoletto and Meg Page in Falstaff.
Renée has received recognition from several notable competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (national semi-finalist), Palm Springs Opera Guild Competition (first place), the Seoul International Music Competition (finalist), Operalia (semi-finalist) and the Brava! Opera Theater and James M. Collier Young Artist Program Vocal Competition (first place).
