BIOGRAPHY
Praised for her “golden tone” and handling of “difficult music with a glorious ease” (Edge Media Network Miami), mezzo-soprano Rachel Arky is an emerging singing actress swiftly gaining attention for her dramatic and musical versatility. This season Ms. Arky makes role debuts as the title character in Carmen with Amore Opera, Meg March in Little Women with Annapolis Opera, and Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore with ARE Opera, and reprises the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto for her Mississippi Opera debut. During the 2015 – 2016 season she appeared as Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin and the Lady in Waiting in Macbeth, both at Chautauqua Opera; Marquise (cover) in La fille du régiment and Tamara (cover) in the world premiere of Ben Moore’s Enemies, A Love Story, both at Palm Beach Opera; and Dorabella in Così fan tutte at DC Public Opera. Previous engagements include Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Palm Beach Opera, Carmen (cover) in La tragédie de Carmen at Des Moines Metro Opera, and Lola in Cavalleria rusticana with New Jersey Verismo Opera. Also a sought-after interpreter of contemporary music, Ms. Arky has collaborated with composers such as Dina Pruzhansky, Matthew Harris, and Ronnie Reshef under the auspices of companies including Chelsea Opera and the JCC Manhattan.
Ms. Arky also maintains an active concert schedule. She has appeared with the Helena Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity; Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio; Hunter College Orchestra and Choir in Mozart’s Requiem and Dvorak’s Stabat Mater; and DCINY at Lincoln Center in Mozart’s Coronation Mass (her Lincoln Center debut).
Ms. Arky has placed as a finalist in a number of prestigious competitions, including the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, Giulio Gari International Voice Competition, Opera at Florham Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition, and Marcello Giordani Foundation International Vocal Competition (two years in a row). She has also been featured in master classes with several renowned singers and directors, including Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hammons, and Catherine Malfitano. Ms. Arky completed her M.M. at Manhattan School of Music and her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
(Current as of March 2018)