Music

Faculty

Blessed with a sumptuous voice of magnificent proportions, soprano RACHEL ROSALES is capable of delivering the fiery intensity of Verdi's most demanding works or spinning out the delicate filigree of Handel's intricate embellishments and has achieved both popular and critical acclaim on international stages in opera, oratorio and solo recitals. Highlights of the season include performances of Messiah with Musica Sacra in Carnegie Hall and Dvo_�k's Stabat Mater with the Hartford Chorale and Symphony, soloist with the Voices of Ascension (Dennis Keene, director), recital/concerts of 19th Century salon music with fortepiano and 19th Century guitars, guest artist in a concert of Mozart Lieder and Arias with the Friends of Mozart Society and New York Premiere of "Songs of Eternity," composed by Behzad Ranjbaran for soprano, Ren�e Fleming, in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series, Kent Tritle, conductor.

Last season she performed Donna Anna with Opera Illinois' Don Giovanni and the Brahms Requiem with Johannes Somary - Fairfield County Chorale, on the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space series and with the Voices of Ascension. During the summer she rejuvenated Cl�rambault's Med�e and Il Duello Amoroso (a fully staged production of Handel cantatas) with The American Virtuosi Baroque Opera Theater with gala performances in Newport and New York City. She continues her collaboration this season with The American Virtuosi starring as the leading role in a national tour of Handel's Rodelinda. With the American Symphony Orchestra - Bard Festival Orchestra, Leon Botstein conductor, she has performed scenes from Charpentier's Louise, Jan�_ek's The Adventures of Mr. Brou_ek and, most recently, Epitaffio No. 1 by Luigi Nono on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center-Avery Fisher Hall.

Recent engagements include performances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Berkshire Opera and as Cofieta in Jos� de Nebra's zarzuela Ifigenia en Tauris with the New York Collegium, as well as recitals/concerts of repertoire ranging from baroque compositions to Verdi's Requiem in venues ranging from the Connecticut Early Music Festival to Carnegie Hall. She has appeared with the National Symphony under the baton of Mstislav Rostropovich as soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 8 and starred in many productions with the New York City Opera including the PBS Live from Lincoln Center telecast of Die Zauberfl�te. Her performance in Roberto Sierra's El Mensajero de Plata with the Bronx Arts Ensemble was recorded for New World Recordings.

Miss Rosales has also appeared with the Opera Companies of Arizona, Calgary, Cincinnati, Eugene, New Orleans and Wolf Trap as well as the Canadian Opera Company. Other orchestral engagements include the Long Island Philharmonic, the Symphony Orchestras of Phoenix, Stamford and Syracuse, The Little Orchestra Society of New York, the New York Choral Society, the Symphony of the United Nations, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Bach Choir of Bethlehem (including performances on their tour of Germany), the Carmel Bach Festival and the Bach Choir of Vancouver. She has concertized on tours of France and the Philippines and given solo recitals in New York City. Distinguished conductors and stage directors she has worked with include Scott Bergeson, Sarah Caldwell, Sergiu Comissiona, Christopher Keene, Jay Lesenger, Lotfi Mansouri, Fabio Mechetti, Roger Nierenberg and Francesca Zambello. She participated in the Wall-to-Wall Bernstein concert broadcast live on WNYC from Symphony Space.

Upon completion of her undergraduate studies at Arizona State University, she joined the Merola Program at San Francisco Opera and later earned her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School. She was a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and took First Place in competitions sponsored by the San Francisco Opera Center, the Music Teachers National Association and the National Association of the Teachers of Singing. Other recordings include North/South Consonance and The Music of John Anthony Lennon for Composers Recordings, The Music of Samuel Zyman for Warner Brothers and Ritmo Jondo - Music of Carlos Suri�ach for New World Records. She currently serves as a member of the teaching faculties of Bennington College, Vassar College and Fordham University.