OPERA BIO
Elise Miller, lyric mezzo soprano is becoming increasingly well known for her impressive versatility and shimmering vocalism, spanning a wide variety of roles and genres ranging from opera to musical theatre, including femme fatales to her specialty in trouser roles and many more. Upcoming this spring 2024, Ms. Miller will perform as Mrs. Lovett in I.U. Opera Theater’s highly-anticipated production of Sweeney Todd.
Most recently, Ms. Miller debuted with Central City Opera as an Apprentice Artist covering the role of Lilli Vanessi/Kate in Kiss Me, Kate. Last fall, she sang the role of Luzuli in L’etoile with the auspicious Indiana University (“I.U.”) Opera Theater. A lover of musical theatre, jazz, and cabaret music, Ms. Miller performed a varied array of German cabaret selections with an up-and-coming company called “The Wild Stage” in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last summer. No stranger to new music, she performed the role of Lowri in the world premiere of Rhiannon’s Condemnation by composer Leigha Amick with New Voices Opera during their 2021-2022 season. She also appeared in I.U. Opera Theater’s productions of La Rondine as Lolette and in L’Incoronazione di Poppea as Emperor Nerone. Additionally, she was part of the staged premiere of The Loathly Lady presented by the Vienna Summer Music Festival in St. Petersburg, Florida, performing the role of Virginia Woolf.
Other recent noteworthy credits for Elise Miller include the role of Beth March in Little Women (I.U. Opera Theater), La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi (Music On Site, Inc.), Silly Girl and Enchanted Object in Beauty and the Beast (Woodlawn Theater), Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Mediterranean Opera Festival; Sicily, Italy). Ms. Miller premiered the role of Jean in a contemporary opera called The War Bride by composer Nathan Felix at Luminaria: San Antonio Arts Festival in 2018. She was a Resident Artist with OPERA San Antonio from 2018-2020 and appeared in their mainstage productions of Tosca, Faust, La Traviata, and Carmen. Previously, Ms. Miller was an Opera Studio Participant in the prestigious American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
Elise Miller resides in Bloomington, Indiana, where in addition to her active performing schedule she is working on her Doctoral Degree in Vocal Performance at the world-renowned Indiana University School of Music. Ms. Miller currently studies voice with Metropolitan Opera soprano, Heidi Grant Murphy.
VIDEO
This Journey / Dead Man Walking (Heggie)
O petite étoile / L’etoile (Chabrier)
So in Love / Kiss Me, Kate (Porter)
Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle? / Romeo et Juliette (Gounod)
RESUME
| OPERA / OPERETTA / MUSICAL THEATRE | 2023 | |
| Mrs. Lovett | Sweeney Todd | I.U. Opera Theater |
| Lilli Vanessi/Kate (cover) | Kiss Me, Kate | Central City Opera |
| 2022 | ||
| Lazuli | L’etoile | I.U. Opera Theater |
| Lowri (world premiere) | Rhiannon’s Condemnation | New Voices Opera |
| 2021 | ||
| Nerone | L’Incoronazione di Poppea | I.U. Opera Theater |
| Virginia Woolf (world premiere) | The Loathly Lady | Vienna Summer Music Festival |
| The Fox (improv) | Carnival of the Animals | Vienna Summer Music Festival |
| 2020 | ||
| Beth March | Little Women | I.U. Opera Theater |
| 2019 | ||
| La Ciesca | Gianni Schicchi | Music on Site, Inc. |
| Lauretta (cover) | Gianni Schicchi | Music on Site, Inc. |
| Silly Girl/Enchanted Object | Beauty and the Beast | The Woodlawn Theater |
| 2018 | ||
| Jean (world premiere) | The War Bride | Luminaria: San Antonio Arts Festival |
| Susanna | Le Nozze di Figaro | Mediterranean Opera Festival |
| Kate Pinkerton | Madama Butterfly | Mediterranean Opera Festival |
| Lady of the Creek (workshop) | Suenos de Bejar | OPERA San Antonio |
| ORATORIO / CONCERT / RECITAL | ||
| 2023 | ||
| Soloist | Airs and Dances of John Dowland | Concentus |
| 2022 | ||
| Soloist | Cabaret for the Working Class | The Wild Stage |
| Mezzo Soloist | Bach Cantata BWV 137 | Bloomington Bach Cantata Project |
| 2021 | ||
| Soloist | Lily Library Guatemalan Manuscripts | Bloomington Early Music Festival |
| 2016 | ||
| Soloist | Mostly Shakespeare | American Institute of Musical Studies |
| Soloist | Broadway Showstoppers | American Institute of Musical Studies |
| Soloist | Musica Sanctissima | American Institute of Musical Studies |
| TRAINING | ||
| Central City Opera (Central City, CO) | Apprentice Artist | 2023 |
| Vienna Summer Music Festival (St. Petersburg, FL) | Participant | 2021 |
| OPERA San Antonio (San Antonio, TX) | Resident Artist | 2018-2020 |
| Mediterranean Opera Festival (Sicily, Italy) | Participant | 2018 |
| American Institute of Musical Studies (Graz, Austria) | Opera Studio Participant | 2016 |
| * Upcoming |
| EDUCATION | ||
| Doctor of Music in Vocal Performance (DM/In Progress) | Indiana University | 2022-Present |
| Master of Music in Vocal Performance (MM) | Indiana University | 2020-2022 |
| Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance (BM/Cum Laude) | University of Texas San Antonio | 2011-2015 |
CAREER INFLUENCES
Conductors: Marzio Conti, Brandon Eldredge, Kevin Murphy
Directors: Candace Evans, E. Loren Meeker, Michael Shell
Voice Teachers: Heidi Grant Murphy (current), Patricia Stiles, Peter Volpe
Coaches: Kristin Ditlow, Kevin Murphy, Charles Prestinari