Rhea Olivaccé

Soprano Rhea Olivaccé is known for her “vibrant color” and “vivacious abandon”. In Spring 2018, Dr. Olivaccé reprised the role of Bess in Opera Western Reserve’s production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, where she exhibited “an especially lovely middle to high range with velvety hues” (Cleveland Classical). Her operatic repertoire includes Mimi and Musetta from Puccini’s La Bohème, Contessa from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Tatyana from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Suzel in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz. She has performed with Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Western Reserve, and Skylight Music Theatre, among others.

Olivaccé’s work as an orchestra soloist has been widely recognized in performing such works as the Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, and Rutter Requiem Masses, Bach’s St. John Passion and Magnificat, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, and Strauss’ Four Last Songs. In spring 2019, she was the soloist in the Midwest debut of Golijov’s Oceana. She has graced the world-renowned stages of Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Olivaccé is an alumna of the AIMS program in Graz, Austria, where she was a finalist in the Meistersinger Competition in 2016.

Olivaccé is a sought-after recitalist who specializes in African-American Art Songs and Negro Spirituals. She is also a frequent masterclass clinician, having most recently taught at University of Wisconsin, Madison. In summer 2019 she was a Fellow at the NATS Intern program.

Olivaccé holds a D.M.A. and M.M. from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and a B.M. from Florida International University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.