Rising American soprano Veronica Richer is gaining recognition for her rich vocal timbre and compelling dramatic presence across a broad spectrum of operatic and concert repertoire. Praised for her “fearless high register and good projection and enunciation” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), Ms. Richer continues to impress audiences and critics alike.
Veronica Richer opened her 2024–2025 season with a significant debut at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. She performed the title role of Suor Angelica with the AIMS Festival Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Lukas Beikircher. The performance took place at the prestigious Musikverein für Steiermark, one of the region’s most esteemed concert venues. This engagement marks an important milestone in Ms. Richer’s growing international career, showcases her in one of Puccini’s most emotionally complex and vocally demanding roles.
Ms. Richer recently garnered favorable critical acclaim from David Fox of Parterre Box for her performance as Female Chorus in the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) production of The Rape of Lucretia in Philadelphia. She subsequently appeared as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with AVA, conducted by Robert Kahn, at the Helen Corning Warden Theater. Additionally, she portrayed Marguerite in AVA’s children’s production of Faust, under the direction of conductor Steven White. In 2026, Ms. Richer will return to the Helen Corning Warden Theater to sing Countess in Strauss` Capriccio and Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff.
Veronica has been recognized for her exceptional vocal talent and artistic promise by the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, one of the most prestigious vocal competitions in the United States. In 2025, she was named a Kansas City District Winner, advancing in the competition and earning distinction among a highly competitive field of emerging operatic talent. Earlier in her career, Ms. Richer was awarded an Encouragement Award in the 2019 New Haven District of the Laffont Competition. This early recognition marked her as a promising young artist and served as an important milestone in her professional development.
Ms. Richer’s recent accomplishments reflect a steadily ascending career path. In 2023, she sang the title role of Suor Angelica and also performed the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi with the Bay View Music Festival. That same year, she began her tenure as a first-year resident artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she covered the role of Anna Bolena and performed as Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia as well as Female Chorus in Rape of Lucretia. These engagements build upon a successful 2022 season. During that period, she made her international debut in Mexico, performing the roles of Suor Angelica, Suor Zelatrice, and La Badessa with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Michoacán under the baton of Jorge Parodi. Additional highlights from the season include her portrayal of both Rusalka and the Foreign Princess with the Luke Housner Workshop at AVA, as well as a return to her hometown of Bryan, Ohio, to appear in a Christmas concert with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Allain Trudel.
Her operatic repertoire includes notable roles such as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Atalanta (Xerse), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte). She made her New York City debut as Pamina with the Manhattan Opera Studio under Stephan Fillare and performed Rosalinde with Harvard College
Opera.
Ms. Richer has appeared with a wide range of distinguished opera companies and festivals. In 2021 she performed at the Festival de Música de Morelia, covering the role of La Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro and singing Mimì in a gala concert broadcast across the state of Michoacán. That same season, she worked with renowned conductor Leone Magiera at the
Bologna International Opera Academy, performing in scene and recital programs.
On the concert stage, Ms. Richer has appeared as a soloist in a range of oratorio and recital works. She performed Handel’s Messiah with Camerata New York under Richard Owen and has sung in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and John Musto’s Penelope’s Songs. She has also performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall as part of a recital series. A passionate and forward-thinking advocate for contemporary music, Veronica Richer is committed to exploring and elevating new works that challenge traditional boundaries of the operatic and vocal repertoire. She premiered The Art of Change, an innovative opera by renowned French composer Jean-Baptiste Barrière, which integrates electronic music and vocal improvisation to create a multidimensional, immersive soundscape. This genre-defying work highlights Ms. Richer’s artistic curiosity and technical versatility, as well as her ability to collaborate across disciplines and musical styles.
Her academic and artistic training includes a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory. In recognition of her academic and musical excellence, Ms. Richer was inducted into Pi Kappa Lambda, the National Music Honor Society—an honor awarded to students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in musicianship and scholarship.
Veronica currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studies with renowned baritone, Luis Ledesma at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
