Rachel Purvis, Soprano
Rachel Purvis performs Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Op 125, “Choral” with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra on October 5th, 2024 for the CSO’s Opening Night Celebration: Beethoven & Liszt.
All Topics
- About Rachel
- About the Indianapolis Opera
- The Indianapolis Opera Resident Artist Program
About Rachel
RACHEL PURVIS, soprano, is a native of Indianapolis, IN, where she made her professional debut as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte with Indianapolis Opera in May of 2023.
Recently, Purvis was also seen as Mrs. Nordstrom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and in Puccini’s Tosca (Chorus) with Indianapolis Opera, and sang the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka under the direction of Luke Housner of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Purvis has performed internationally with La Musica Lirica and the International Opera Performing Experience singing the title role of Suor Angelica, Mimì (La Bohème) and Alice Ford (Falstaff) as well as in choruses of Verdi’s La Traviata and Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Purvis earned her Performer Diploma (2021) and Master’s degree (2020) in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Jane Dutton at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
During this time, she was the second prize winner with the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition. She earned her undergraduate degree in voice at Butler University. This fall, Purvis will appear as Berta in Indianapolis Opera’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.
About the Indianapolis Opera
The mission of Indianapolis Opera is to educate, inspire, and entertain through the creation and presentation of musical storytelling for our diverse Hoosier community.
Formed in 1975, Indianapolis Opera is the oldest and largest professional opera company in Indiana. In its nearly 50-year history, the Indianapolis Opera has presented 163 productions and large-scale concerts representing the work of 48 different composers, including more than 18 composers of the 20th and 21st centuries. IO delivers diverse artistic experiences, reaching over 30,000 audience members a year throughout all of Indiana with mainstage productions, educational programming, and outreach concerts. Each of these programs shares the thrill of live opera and the healing power of music with a multicultural blend of classic, lyric musical theater, and contemporary repertoire, each balancing style and language within the full spectrum of the human experience.
Opera is a unique art form, wherein all artistic expressions are equal and diverse simultaneously, combining the raw athletic power of the classical human voice with music composition, poetry, instruments, theater, scenic design, costuming, makeup and more. These fully dimensional presentations are affecting and meaningful, connecting artists and audiences both in times of uncertainty and periods of peace.
The Indianapolis Opera Resident Artist Program
In 1989, Indianapolis Opera founded their Resident Artist Program, and has worked with over 170 emerging artists who have gone on to national and international careers, performing on the stages of all of the world’s largest opera houses.
As the only professional opera artist development program in Indiana, the company delivers to their Resident Artists a complete training experience, during which IO Resident Artists serve as ambassadors of the Opera by presenting operatic performances and educational experiences throughout Indiana and neighboring states.
Artists who participate in the Resident Artist Program comment on both the breadth and depth of their experiences, from multiple opportunities to perform, intensive work with guest faculty, and mentorship from Indianapolis Opera team members.