Rachel Cunningham is a 20-year-old soprano who hails from Houston, Texas. She currently pursues a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance at the University of North Texas, studying under Mary Mills. Rachel prides herself on her Texan identity and her involvement with UNT. She is an active member of their chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, and she engages in community work as a student council co-chair for the Division of Vocal Studies. Last summer, she traveled with UNT’s flagship choir, the A Cappella Choir, led by Allen Hightower, to Marktoberdorf, Germany. They competed in the International Chamber Choir Competition and subsequently won first-place prize against fifteen other elite choirs from all over the world. She frequently collaborates with the UNT Composition Department, premiering art songs and choral works written by underrepresented composers. Having also studied and excelled in creative writing, Rachel has been invited to collaborate on the libretto of an operatic adaptation of the Greek play Antigone, senior project of the prodigious young composer Abigail N. Lewis. Before she ventures to Sicily, Rachel will sing First Lady in a special English production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute for UNT’s summer opera theater.

In Sicily, she looks forward to singing some of her very first roles, those of Norina (Don Pasquale) and Countess Ceprano (Rigoletto), with Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival. Filled with zeal for all things Italian opera, Rachel has previously performed scenes as Norina, Adina (L’elisir d’amore), and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) while enrolled in Stephen Dubberly’s Opera in Concert in Italy summer program, performing for native audiences in the historic town of Urbino. Through deep character study and intentional dramatic work, Rachel seeks to uncover the most emotional and human aspects of opera. She believes singing is the greatest gift of all, and she wishes to enrich and uplift those around her.