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The American tenor, Louis Alexander Riva, obtained his Bachelor of Music degree from The Juilliard School (2011). His tenure includes performances as Lysander in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi, Don Ottavio in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, Ferrando in W.A. Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutte, Sam in Street Scene, as well as summers with the Chautauqua Institute and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv. He won First Prize in the 2018 Mario Lanza & Elaine Malbin Competition in New York. As a 2018 Young Artist with the Martina Arroyo Foundation - Prelude to Performance (June-August 2018), he covered all three tenor roles of Fenton, Dr. Caius, and Bardolfo in Verdi’s Falstaff. Marking his debut with Sarasota Opera as a Fall 2018 and Winter 2019 Apprentice Artist (October 2018-March 2019), he sang the role of Pong in Turandot. As a 2019 Apprentice artist with Charlottesville Opera (June-July 2019), he was seen as Garcia in Le Tragedie de Carmen, and Sir Dinadan in Camelot.
Noted for his “…attractive tone, silken voice, and ardent acting.”, Louis Riva's recent engagements have marked diverse debuts, including Lyonel in Martha with Utopia Opera Company, Fenton and Bardolfo in Bronx Opera’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff, and Junger Diener in Elektra. He is thrilled to be joining the roster of Virginia Opera’s 2019-2020 Herndon Foundation Emerging Artist Program (since September 2019). He sings Spoletta in Tosca, Priest, Thug #2, and covers Mario Ruoppolo in Il Postino, and sings Frederic and Major General Stanley in the Spring Education and Outreach Tour of Pirates of Penzance. His operatic repertoire includes also performances as Roderick II in Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner and Rumplestilskin in Sousa's Transformations. Summer festival opportunities with the Chautauqua Institute of Music and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv have seen Louis as Pitichinaccio in Offenbach's Les contes d’Hoffmann, Valetto in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea and High Priest in W.A. Mozart's Idomeneo re di Creta.
An active presence of the professional New York choral scene, Louis Riva has been a featured soloist with MasterVoices, Litha Symphony, New York Choral Society, Orchestra Amadeus, Hellenic Symphony, Nubian Conservatory Ensemble, and Collegiate Singers of New York City. Such solo work includes: Litha Symphony’s New Year’s Eve Gala performance of L.v. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, tenor soloist in Dvorak’s Mass in D Major with the Collegiate Singers of New York City, tenor soloist in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with Orchestra Amadeus, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Jonathan in George Frideric Handel’s Saul, and scenes from Verdi’s Rigoletto and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with the St. Paul Orchestra, G.F. Handel’s Judas Maccabeus, Johannes Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, and W.A. Mozart's Coronation Mass.
Louis Riva is equally at ease across a variety of genre, and can be regularly heard on New York City nightlife stages singing pop, big band, jazz, and musical theater. Known for his sparkling performances of hits by Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones, he is the Season 16 Winner of legendary Stonewall Inn’s Sensation competition. |
