Raehann Bryce-Davis (born May 17, 1986) is an American operatic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

and producer. Bryce-Davis was born in Mexico and raised in

Keene, Texas Keene is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,387 in 2020. Geography Keene is located in central Johnson County and is bordered to the west by Cleburne, the county seat. U.S. Route 67 runs through the southern ...

. She attended the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas, United States. It is the second oldest university in the University of Texas System and was founded in 1895. It was in the Texas A& ...

and the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

, where she was a student of Cynthia Hoffmann. She is a winner of the 2018 George London Award at the

George London Competition George London (born George Burnstein; May 30, 1920 – March 24, 1985) was an American concert and operatic bass-baritone. Biography George Burnstein was born to U.S. naturalized parents of Russian origin in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and grew ...

, the 2017 Concorso Lirico di Portofino, the 2016 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from Merola Opera Program, the 2015 International Hilde Zadek Competition in Vienna and the 2015 Sedat Gürel - Güzin Gürel International Voice Competition in Istanbul. Bryce-Davis has been acclaimed across Europe and North America for her portrayals of

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

roles such as Eboli, Azucena, and Preziosilla, as well as

bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

heroines such as Leonora from

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

's ''

La Favorite ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...

'' and Sara in ''

Roberto Devereux ''Roberto Devereux'' (in full , ; "Robert Devereux, or the Earl of Essex") is an 1837 (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The opera is loosely based on the life of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, an influential member of the ...

''. In concert, solo highlights include performances of Verdi's Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the

Oratorio Society of New York The Oratorio Society of New York is a not-for-profit membership organization that performs choral music in the oratorio style. Founded in 1873 by conductor Leopold Damrosch, it is the third oldest musical organization in New York City. The Society ...

, conducted by Kent Tritle, Verdi's Requiem with the

Montreal Symphony Orchestra The Montreal Symphony Orchestra () is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. History Several orchestras were precursor ensembles to the curren ...

under

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's ''

Sea Pictures ''Sea Pictures, Op. 37'' is a song cycle for contralto and orchestra by Edward Elgar. It consists of settings of a poems by five different authors. A version for piano was often performed by Elgar. Many mezzo-sopranos have sung the piece. The ...

'' at the Vienna Musikverein with Jun Märkl, and a Grammy-nominated performance of

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning

Paul Moravec Paul Moravec (born November 2, 1957) is an American composer and a university professor at Adelphi University on Long Island, New York and also a member of the composition department of the Mannes School of Music. Already a prolific composer, he ...

and Mark Campbell's ''Sanctuary Road''. In 2022, Bryce-Davis made house and role debuts at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

as Baba the Turk in ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

'', at

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...

, Brussels, as La Zia Principessa in ''

Suor Angelica ''Suor Angelica'' (''Sister Angelica'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an original Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. It is the second opera of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico'' (''The Triptych''). It received its wor ...

'', and at

Washington National Opera Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...

as Azucena in '' Il trovatore''. In 2021, she returned to both

Los Angeles Opera The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...

and the Staatstheater Nürnberg as Azucena, and gave solo recitals at both the Tuesday Musical Club in San Antonio, Texas, with pianist Heeyoung Choi, and for the Merola Opera Program with pianist Jeanne-Minette Cilliers. In 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she produced the music video "To the Afflicted" which became an official video for World Opera Day, and in 2021 she served as executive producer, concept creator, and performer in the award-winning digital short "Brown Sounds" with the LA Opera and Aural Compass Projects. Bryce-Davis is a co-founder of the Black Opera Alliance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryce-Davis, Raehann 1986 births Living people American operatic mezzo-sopranos 21st-century American women opera singers 21st-century American singers African-American women opera singers