Ricardo José Rivera
Baritone

Praised for his “rich baritone and confident stage demeanor”, Puerto Rican baritone Ricardo José Rivera is  a 2021 alumnus of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. This past season Ricardo performed Nottingham in Roberto Devereux with Washington Concert Opera, Don Carlo in Ernani with Sarasota Opera, Severo in Donizetti’s Poliuto with Teatro Nuovo, and Silvio in Pagliacci  with Opera San Antonio.  His other recent engagements include Silvano in Un ballo in Maschera with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti, Schaunard in La Boheme for CulturArte de Puerto Rico, the Marquis de la Force (cover) in Dialogues of the Carmelites for the Houston Grand Opera, Escamillo in Carmen with Opera de Puerto Rico, and concerts with the Mobile Symphony. This season he makes his debut as Figaro in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas with Opera San Jose, debuts the role of Miller in Verdi’s  Luisa Miller with Sarasota Opera, and returns to Teatro Nuovo for Carolina Uccelli’s Anna di Resburgo. Future engagements include debuts with Pittsburgh Opera as Silvio in Pagliacci, Opera Colorado as Conte di Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic in the role of Sharpless. Next season he also returns to Opera San Jose as Papageno and Sarasota Opera as Stankar in Verdi’s Stiffelio.

For the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Mr. Rivera sang Schaunard in La Bohème, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, and Sharpless in Madame Butterfly. Notable covers included Marcello in La Bohème, and the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. He was to sing Silvio in the company’s 2020-2021 production of I Pagliacci but the opera was cancelled due to COVID.

Recent engagements include Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at the Aspen Music Festival, Claudio in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict and Angel #7 in the American premiere of contemporary opera Seven Angels by Luke Bedford, both with the Aspen Music Festival, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with the International Lyric Academy of Rome and Silvano in Un ballo in maschera with Opera in the Heights.

In concert, he has performed with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago in Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and with the Civic Orchestra at the Chicago Symphony Center, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Dominican Republic Symphony Orchestra, and in several concerts with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. Also, in his native Puerto Rico he has performed with the Opera de Puerto Rico, Teatro de la Ópera, Ópera al Fresco and the Zarzuela and Operetta Foundation. In 2016, he portrayed the role of Don Quixote in Manuel de Falla’s Master Peter’s Puppet Show, as part of the prestigious Festival Casals.

Mr. Rivera has been the recipient of several grants, including the Richard F. Gold Career Grant presented by the Shoshana Foundation, First Prize and Audience Prize winner in the Houston Saengerbund Voice Competition, and Third Prize winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions – Gulf Region. 

Erik Earl Larson
Baritone

Erik Earl Larson began the 2022-23 season with the Dallas Opera as Marullo in Rigoletto, and joined the Memphis Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. This season Erik will be appearing at Dallas Opera as Paris in Roméo et Juliet, Sciarrone in Tosca, and as Jean-Dominque Bauby (cover) in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. In previous seasons he sang the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro for Virginia Opera, performed the role of Moncada in Zorro with Ft Worth Opera, made his Carnegie Hall debut in Mark Hayes’ Gloria, joined the Atlanta Opera for Escamillo (cover) and Tiger Brown in Three Penny Opera, and returned to Carnegie Hall for Michael Glasgow’s Gloria. Previously with the Dallas Opera he covered several leading roles including the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Rodrigo in Don Carlo.  

During the 2019-2020 season, Erik made debuts with Austin Opera as Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in Orff’s explosive Carmina Burana, and Fort Worth Opera  as Marcello in La Boheme, and Peter in Hänsel and Gretel.  He was further featured in the company’s pioneering new music initiative – Frontiers – where he sang selections from newly composed operas by Steven Aldridge (The Hatfield-McCoy Triptychs), Paul Fowler (Behold the Man), and Brian Rosen (Death of a Playboy).

Recent engagements have included Le Dancaïre in Carmen under the baton on John DeMain with Madison Opera, Escamillo for Parkway Concert Orchestra, Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff for TCU Opera, as well as Figaro Le nozze di Figaro, Sid in Britten’s Albert Herring, Maguire in Tobias Picker’s Emmeline, and Golaud in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, all for Boston University’s Opera Institute.

Erik has been in the young artist programs at Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Music Academy of the West.  He has received recognition in competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, and the Giulio Gari Foundation.