Dr. Rhea Olivaccé
Dr. Rhea Olivaccé is a classically trained vocalist based in Kalamazoo, MI. Known for her “vibrant color” and “vivacious abandon”, she is celebrated for her interpretation of operatic roles including Mimi and Musetta from Puccini’s La Bohème, La 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. Dr. 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. She has graced the world-renowned stages of Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Dr. Olivaccé is an alum of the AIMS program in Graz, Austria, where she was a finalist in the Meistersinger Competition in 2016.
Dr. Olivaccé is a frequent masterclass clinician and sought-after recitalist who specializes in African-American Art Songs and Negro Spirituals and Classical Vocal Music of the African Diaspora. In summer 2019 she was a Fellow at the NATS Intern program. Dr. Olivaccé holds a DMA and MM from University of Michigan Ann Arbor and a BM from Florida International University. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan.