Emily Richter
Soprano
BIOGRAPHY
BIO
Emily Richter is a lyric soprano based out of Chicago, IL. Having benefited from growing up all over the world from Zimbabwe to Armenia and living in musical centers such as London and Tokyo, Emily truly has a global perspective on what it means to be an artist.
Soprano Emily Richter is a 2024 Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Next season includes her return to Lyric Opera to cover the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She will make her European, house, and role debut as Mathilde in a new production of Guillaume Tell at Staatsoper Hamburg. She will join Hudson Hall in their production of Handel's last opera, Deidamia, with Ruckus Early Music Ensemble, singing the role of Deidamia. In the summer of 2027, she will make her Santa Fe Debut in the US premiere of Brett Dean's new opera Of One Blood, playing the role of Mary Stuart.
She was a member of the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 seasons. Covers during that time include Fiordiligi in Cosî fan Tutte, Countess in Le Nozze Di Figaro, Marzelline in Fidelio, Glauce in Medea, and Claire Devon in Missy Mazzoli’s new opera The Listeners. She performed onstage as First Handmaiden in Medea and First Peasant in Le Nozze Di Figaro. She additionally covered the title role in Haymarket Opera’s production of Alcina at Ravinia Festival. Her time at Lyric includes exciting performances at the Chicago Symphony Center and Millenium Park.
Emily spent two seasons as a Resident Artist at Pittsburgh Opera which came with major performing opportunities. Role highlights include the title role of Iphigénie in Iphegénie en Tauride, Ginevra in Ariodante, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Ma in Proving Up, as well as covering the role of Violetta in La Traviata. In her 2022/2023 season, as a first-year Resident Artist, she covered the role of Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with a matinée performance.
Concert work includes the soprano solos of Messiah with Seattle Symphony, The Camerata Chicago and the Illinois Philhamornic. She has sung Verdi’s Requiem with the Westmoreland Symphony and War Requiem with the Erie Philharmonic. At Lyric Opera of Chicago, she covered the soprano solos in Carmina Burana and A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness.
In addition to being a Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, she was the 1st place winner of the 2023 Mildred Miller Competition. Emily was the 2021 Wirth Prize Winner at McGill and was awarded $25,000 for an exemplary 30-minute program of song and opera repertoire.
Emily has trained as an emerging professional in Young Artist Programs with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, the International Meistersinger Akademie, Féstival d'Aix-en-Provence, Central City Opera, and Seagle Festival. She is a graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, where she received an MM in Vocal and Opera Performance under the tutelage of Dominique Labelle. Emily received her BM in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University, where she studied with Steven Paul Spears.
Emily aims not just to bring elegant lyrical singing to the stage, but also hopes to use her unique perspective to connect to her audience. When not singing, Emily can be found reading, listening, laughing and exploring the streets of whatever city she finds herself in!