Soprano Opera Singer
Hitting the High Notes
Raven McMillon鈥檚 (CFA 2017) voice is described as crisp, silvery, radiant, and voluminous.
In 2021, these qualities earned her a spot as a winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition 鈥� a contest that recognizes emerging artists.
Raven is now taking on leading roles, including Gilda in 鈥淩igoletto鈥� with both Opera Philadelphia and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Pamina in 鈥淒ie Zauberfl枚te鈥� with Des Moines Metro Opera and Welsh National Opera, and the eponymous Lucia in 鈥淟ucia di Lammermoor鈥� with Cincinnati Opera. Among other roles, she was featured as Frasquita in 鈥淐armen鈥� and Gretel in 鈥淗ansel and Gretel鈥� with the Houston Grand Opera, where she was a member of their training program from 2020-2022.
鈥淥pera roles are about transforming,鈥� Raven says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 finding a life on stage that stems from the music, costumes, set and situations your character is put into. It鈥檚 fun for me to live the character鈥檚 life for a few hours and to share that transformation with the audience.鈥�
The most famous operatic roles have been around for several hundred years. Raven鈥檚 talent lands her those parts, but she鈥檚 equally passionate about the lesser-known works being composed today that offer a fresh take on a classic vocal artform.
鈥淣ew works range from super light and fun, to heavy topics such as social justice, race and equality,鈥� Raven says. 鈥淎s opera singers and especially as singers of color, there鈥檚 importance in singing opera not just for the entertainment but also for the ability to teach an audience or to share a true story. The political provocativeness of some older operas are generally lost on modern audiences, but the new works that are being mounted provide the same thing for us today.鈥�
Story by Elizabeth Speed