Returning Festival Artist, Stacey Rishoi has received critical acclaim on concert stages across the U.S. for the beauty and power of her mezzo-soprano voice. Her 2017-18 season includes performances of Verdi’s Requiem with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and Greenville Symphony Orchestra, as well as performances in the Colorado Mahler Festival as mezzo-soprano soloist in Das Lied von der Erde.

Ms. Rishoi recently returned to Cincinnati Opera to sing the title role of Carmen, and Maddalena in Rigoletto; Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Toledo Opera and Calgary Opera; Amneris in Aidawith Opera Tampa; Dalila in Samson et Dalila with Opera Grand Rapids and Nashville Opera, and Adalgisa in Norma with Virginia Opera. Of her Adalgisa, The Washington Post stated, “It was Rishoi’s Adalgisa, however, who nearly stole the show with a performance that was convincing and unwavering from start to finish. … Rishoi commanded the stage with a lustrous voice graced with natural expression and a surprising clarion projection.”

Recent concert performances include mezzo-soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Symphony Silicon Valley and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Eugene Symphony; soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Symphony No. 9, both in a return to Jacksonville Symphony; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with Greenville Symphony Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem with Duke Chapel Choir, and Bel Canto Chorus as soloist in Dvořák’s Stabat Mater.

Career highlights include her return to Calgary Opera to sing Amneris; to Cincinnati Opera to sing Madama Larina in Eugene Onegin; to the Virginia Symphony Orchestra to sing Messiah, JoAnn Falletta conducting; appearing as soloist with Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Symphony orchestras, also with Bel Canto Chorus and Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC in Verdi’s Requiem; with the Toledo Symphony, Fresno Philharmonic and Springfield Symphony orchestras in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Florida Orchestra; in an evening of opera highlights with Kentucky Symphony Orchestra; as soloist in Cincinnati Opera’s 90th Anniversary Gala concert; in  Messiah with the Pacific and Jacksonville symphony orchestras; De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with Jacksonville and Atlanta symphony orchestras; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Buffalo Philharmonic; Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with West Virginia Symphony; and an appearance with South Dakota Chamber Orchestra in a vocal showcase concert, which included Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’ete, through Sounds of South Dakota.

Other highlights include two successful role debuts – Dalila in Samson et Dalila with Nashville Opera and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Orlando Opera; her return to Washington National Opera as Waltraute in Die Walküre; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Grant Llewellyn; Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC; de Falla’s The Three Cornered Hat with Columbus Symphony; joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor; Mozart’s Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; performances of Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Portraits and Serenade to Music at the Washington National Cathedral; Adalgisa with Virginia Opera; Waltraute in Die Walküre with both Seattle Opera and Canadian Opera Company; Amneris in Aida with Orlando Opera; and Magdalene in Die Meistersinger with the Cincinnati May Festival, conducted by James Conlon. Ms. Rishoi also added the role of Waltraute in Götterdämmerung to her repertoire at Seattle Opera, as well as Fricka in Die Walküre with the Canadian Opera Company. She has performed both Sesto in La clemenza di Tito and Arsamene in Xerxes with Wolf Trap Opera; Jo in Little Women with both Central City Opera and Opera Omaha; Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus with Utah Opera; Mercedes in Carmen with Kentucky Opera, Meg Page in Falstaff with Opera Festival of New Jersey; Flora in La traviata with New Orleans Opera; and Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte with both Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the 2003 Macau International Music Festival.

Ms. Rishoi has met with critical acclaim on concert stages across the U.S. and has garnered an extensive list of symphonic credits. Among her many successes are Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Syracuse symphony orchestras; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Virginia Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Rosa Symphony; her engagement by Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic for the world premiere of Michael Torke’s Four Seasons and Aaron Kernis’ Garden of Light, which was followed by an immediate re-engagement for the world premiere of Ades’ America: A Prophesy; and Mozart’s Requiem with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and Portugal’s Festival dos 100 Dias. She has performed Bach’s Magnificat with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; B Minor Mass with the Bach Festival Society (FL); and St. Matthew Passion with the Choral Arts Society of Washington, D.C.; Handel’s Messiah with both the Phoenix and San Diego symphony orchestras; and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Rishoi can be heard on the world premiere recording of Liszt’s St. Stanislaus, conducted by James Conlon, on the Telarc label. The Liszt also marked her debut performance at the Cincinnati May Festival.

Committed to the performance of song literature, Ms. Rishoi was singled out for her participation in the “Christa Ludwig Song Workshop: Brahms and Mahler,” sponsored by Carnegie Hall. She also gave the world premiere of John Musto’s song cycle for vocal quartet and piano titled The Book of Uncommon Prayer at Miller Theater, Columbia University.

Ms. Rishoi is a winner of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Norman Treigle Award from New York City Opera. She has served as artist in residence at Festival Dos 100 Dias in Portugal and at the Beaumaris Festival in Wales. She is married to bass Gustav Andreassen.

Stacey Rishoi Sings Das Lied von der Erde at MahlerFest XXXI