Recognized for her vocalism and artistic commitment in both classical and contemporary operatic repertoire, American soprano Elizabeth Reiter has garnered critical acclaim for her “rich and silvery” voice (The Boston Globe) and “impressive musical polish” (Opera News), characterizing her as “terrific, a very vital lyric soprano with stellar pitch and attack wedded to fiercely communicative instincts.” (Opera Magazine)

Ms. Reiter is currently a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt, where her performances have included the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Nannetta in Falstaff, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Oscar in Un ballo in maschera, Pamina and Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte, the title role in Debussy’s La Damoiselle Élue, Orasia in Telemann’s Orpheus, Éléonore in Martinu’s The Tears of the Knife, soprano soloist in a staged production of Händel’s Messiah, and Helmwige & Ortlinde in The Ring Cycle (the latter available on DVD in collaboration with OehmsClassics), among others.

Her roles for the 2017-18 Frankfurt season include Armida in Rinaldo, Katya in Weinberg’s Die Passagierin, and Woglinde in Das Rheingold, as well as appearances in Claus Guth’s Die Lustige Witwe and Barrie Kosky’s Dido and Aeneas. Elsewhere in Germany, Ms. Reiter has performed Susanna with Oper Stuttgart and Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf.

In the United States, Ms. Reiter received international attention for her portrayal of Aphrodite in the American premiere of HW Henze’s Phaedra with Opera Philadelphia, where she has also appeared as The Cunning Little Vixen, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Amor in Orphée et Eurydice. Other notable US appearances include Zerlina in Don Giovanni under the baton of James Levine (Tanglewood Music Center), Pamina in The Magic Flute and Flora The Turn of the Screw (Chicago Opera Theater), Adele in Die Fledermaus (Opera Memphis), La libellule in L’Enfant et les Sortiléges with Lorin Maazel (Castleton Festival), Adele in the American premiere of Michael Berkeley’s Jane Eyre (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Sir Colin Graham directing), and Amina in La Sonnambula, Corinna in Il viaggio a Reims, and Zerlina (Curtis Opera Theatre).

A frequent interpreter of new music, Ms. Reiter made her professional debut at the age of 16 as Young Maria Celeste in the world premiere of Philip Glass and Mary Zimmerman’s Galileo Galilei (Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and London’s Barbican Center). She later returned to the Goodman Theatre as Polyxena in Zimmerman’s staging of Seneca’s Trojan Women, singing an aria specially composed by Philip Glass.

Apart from the opera stage, Elizabeth has collaborated with composer Libby Larsen on her Songs from Letters at the Ravinia Music Festival and with composer André Previn on his Sallie Chisum remembers Billy the Kid both at the Tanglewood Music Center and in a televised performance in Tokyo with the composer at the piano.

As a concert performer, Ms. Reiter has appeared on the stage of the Frankfurt Alte Oper in 2017 as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. She recently made her debut with Frankfurt’s Ensemble Modern singing Sofia Gubaidulina’s Hommage à T.S. Eliot. Elizabeth has also been heard as soprano soloist in Weill’s Royal Palace at the Bard Music Festival with the American Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Curtis Sinfonietta, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Chautauqua Music Festival Orchestra and Mahler’s ‘Symphony No. 4’ with the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia.

Additional concert performances have included the role of Cupid in Purcell’s King Arthur in concert performances with Chicago’s Music of the Baroque under the baton of Music Director Jane Glover and appearances as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro for the Chautauqua Theatre Company’s production of Amadeus with both the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under JoAnn Falletta. As a recitalist, Ms. Reiter has collaborated with such artists as André Previn, Craig Rutenberg, Warren Jones, and Mikael Eliasen in such venues as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Ravinia Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, and Tokyo’s NHK Studio.

The 2011 First Prize Winner of the Liederkranz Competition Lieder/Art Song Division, Ms. Reiter has also received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Stella Maris International Vocal Competition (with which she is featured in 3sat’s Documentary Sängerkrieg auf Hoher See), the Lotte Lenya Competition, and the Mario Lanza Competition.

Ms. Reiter received her graduate degree from the Curtis Institute of Music and her undergraduate degree from the Manhattan School of Music, with additional studies at the Steans Institute at Ravinia Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution, and as a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Originally from Chicago, Elizabeth received her earliest operatic training as a member of the children’s chorus with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.