Hailed by Opera News for her “lovely clarity and golden color,” mezzo-soprano Krista River was a winner of the Concert Artists Guild International Competition and a grant recipient from the Sullivan Foundation. Recent notable performances include the International Water and Life Festival in Qinghai, China, and recitals at Jordan Hall in Boston and the Asociación Nacional de Conciertos in Panama City, Panama. The New York Times praised her debut recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, lauding “her shimmering voice…with the virtuosity of a violinist and the expressivity of an actress.”
Opera appearances include Sesto in La clemenza di Tito with Emmanuel Music, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Mercury Baroque (Houston) and the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with the North Carolina Symphony, Narcissus in Boston Baroque’s Agrippina, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Crested Butte Music Festival, and the title role in Handel’s Xerxes with Arcadia Players. Ms. River made her Tanglewood debut in the role of Jordan Baker in John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby.
Ms. River’s orchestral engagements have included appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Handel & Haydn Society, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Harrisburg Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Florida Orchestra, the Cape Cod Symphony, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
A contemporary music advocate, Ms. River has premiered works by numerous composers including Tom Cipullo, Howard Frazin, and Herschel Garfein. She created the role of Genevieve in Brian Hulse’s chamber opera The Game at the Kennedy Center. She is featured on two recordings of the music of Scott Wheeler — The Construction of Boston and Wasting the Night: Songs.
Ms. River began her musical career as a cellist, earning her music degree at St. Olaf College. She resides in Boston and is a regular soloist with Emmanuel Music’s renowned Bach Cantata Series.