Rachel Abbate
American mezzo-soprano Rachel Abbate enjoys an exciting musical career, having performed in venues throughout the United States and Western Europe. Equally comfortable on the operatic and concert stages, Ms. Abbate performs works spanning from Handel to today’s leading composers in contemporary music as well as musical theatre repertoire. Ms. Abbate’s notable operatic roles include Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina, Carole/Natalia in the Southern California premiere of Adam Gorbs’ opera Anya17, Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen, The Angel in Rubinstein’s The Demon, Eva in Martinu’s Veselohra na moste (Comedy on the Bridge), and Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti.
She has performed on the concert stage as the alto soloist in a number of works, including Schubert’s Mass in A-flat Major, Bach’s Magnificat in D, and Mozart’s Requiem. With an ability and passion for crossing over into musical theatre repertoire, Ms. Abbate has portrayed roles such as Lily Craven in The Secret Garden, Penelope Pennywise in Urinetown: The Musical, Lady Thiang in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I, and the Witch in Sondheim’s Into the Woods. Abbate has received several awards from competitions and organizations. Most recently, in 2017, she won 1st Place in the National Federation of Music Clubs’ collegiate auditions in the category of Women’s Voice. In 2014 and 2015, Ms. Abbate was a national semi-finalist in the Classical Singer Magazine Vocal Competition. She was also a recipient of the Louisiana Federation of Music Clubs’ Past Presidents State College Award.
A native of Destrehan, LA, a small town outside of New Orleans, Ms. Abbate most recently earned her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Rice University and the Shepherd School of Music in Houston, TX, and studies voice with Julie Simson. She is also the recipient of the Nancy D. and Robert J. Carney Endowed Scholarship in Voice. Ms. Abbate also earned her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, where she studied voice with Dr. Lori Bade.
