Canadian mezzo-soprano Rachel Miller is a multi-disciplinary performer who finds expression through voice, acting and dance. In the 2022/2023 season Rachel makes her debut with the Canadian Opera Company Chorus, and performs as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria (Toronto Beach Chorale); Beethoven’s Mass in C major (Oakville Choral Society); and Mozart’s Coronation Mass (Mississauga Chamber Singers).
In the 2021/2022 season, Rachel created the role of Stheno in Charlie Petch and Colin McMahon’s chamber opera film Medusa’s Children, presented by OperaQ (Toronto); made her debut with Toronto City Opera as Lola in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana; and performed in Tapestry Opera’s Songbook XI.
Rachel was a prize winner of the 2020 Toronto Mozart Vocal Competition and was invited to perform with the Toronto Mozart Players in 2020. A graduate of the Glenn Gould School, Rachel returned as a guest artist in the role of Nursing Sister in the 2020 production of Suor Angelica, conducted by Nicholas Ellis and directed by Michael Cavanagh. Performances cancelled or rescheduled due to COVID-19 were Dido in Dido and Aeneas (Halifax Summer Opera Festival); and Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Toronto Mozart Players and Pax Christi Chorale.
In the 2018/2019 season Rachel made her European debut as Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera at the Accademia Europea Dell’Opera in Lucca, Italy. She also performed in Toronto-based OperaQ’s inaugural production, Dido and Belinda, a reimagining of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas which centered queer and trans voices to offer new perspectives on the traditional narrative. Other highlights include performing in the world premiere of Anna Höstman’s Icefolding with the Glenn Gould School New Music Ensemble as part of the 21C Music Festival; as well as performances with Cor Unum Ensemble and Sub Rosa Ensemble.
In the 2017/2018 season, Rachel made her Koerner Hall debut as Prince Orlofsky in J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (Glenn Gould School), conducted by Nathan Brock and directed by Joel Ivany; and sang the role of Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Glenn Gould School), in which she “not only had to sing, but also fight, dance, and execute a complex hand clapping game” (Ludwig Van 2017).
In recital, Rachel has explored the works of Brahms, Wolf, Poulenc, Fauré, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Viardot, De Falla and Rebecca Clarke, and has found special pleasure in performing the works of contemporary North American composers including Norbert Palej and Jake Heggie.
Currently based in Toronto, Rachel received her Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, and holds an Honours B.Sc. in Psychology and Linguistics from the University of Toronto. Rachel has over 20 years of dance training in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and musical theatre, and enjoys exploring movement and dance as part of her artistic practice.