Meet Erin
Erin Ridge is an American multidisciplinary artist making a name for herself in the opera industry as both a stage director and a lyric soprano. Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, Ridge delivers compellingly honest performances both on and off the stage. In keeping with her vision to be the “Barbara Hannigan” of singing & directing, Ridge finds herself at home across a variety of genres with a particular proclivity towards bringing modern 20th & 21st century stories to life. Described as having an “unflappable spirit”, Ridge’s approach to artistic creation is fastidious in her attention to detail and audacious in her commitment to bold embodiment.
This fall, Ridge is thrilled to have taken home 1st place in the American International Czech & Slovak Voice Competition and an Encouragement Award for Mildred Miller International Voice Competition as well as be named a semi-finalist in the Camille Coloratura and Marcella Sembrich international vocal competitions. Ridge will be joining the Trinity Chamber Orchestra in April as the soloist for Mahler’s 4th Symphony.
Her love of art song has led to two recitals so far this year: The Last Rose of Summer - presented at the Cardella Salon Series, and Into the Silent Land - a one woman show about the journey of meditation produced during her residency with The Apiary, and she is looking forward to presenting a mini-recital Amor, se aparté! at the Arts Club of Washington later this fall featuring spanish art songs and spanish-inspired duets.
In the 23/24 season, Ridge made her solo debut with the Washington Concert Opera as Cleone in Ermione as well as several university stage directing debuts. She returned to her alma mater Vanderbilt University to direct the first ever Spanish production of children’s opera Lucinda y las Flores de la Nochebuena and then joined the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins University to direct their graduate production of Svadba, a Serbian chamber opera. She also joined the Beth Morrison Projects & Vision Into Arts for their DC workshop of new opera Sensorium Ex. Ridge has been a semi-finalist in national competitions including the Gerda Lissner and the Giulio Gari, as well as a finalist in the Orpheus and Partners for the Arts.
Recent performance highlights include…
Ridge opened the 23/24 season by winning 2nd place in the Mid-Atlantic NATSAA Competition in collaboration with pianist Alexander Kostadinov; the duo prepared a wide array of art song repertoire ranging from Granados to Liszt and Kaprálová. Her deep-rooted love for art song and chamber music naturally led her to the Baltimore Musicales, where she has been a roster member performing on their art song recital series. Ridge also joined Lancaster Symphony Orchestra as Lieschen for their community performance of Bach’s Coffee Cantata as well as other operatic hits. The summer of 2022, Ridge was invited to the Sewanee Summer Music Festival to perform pieces including Crumb’s Madrigals, Book I as well as Cipullo’s cycle Late Summer.
As an active AGMA member, Ridge’s chorus credits include Nabucco, Lakmé, and Roberto Devereux with the Washington Concert Opera, Wolf Trap Opera’s 2023 production of Don Giovanni, and Turandot and Macbeth with the Washington National Opera.
As a 2020/2021 member of Maryland Opera Studio, Ridge performed the roles of Sandrina, La finta giardiniera and Mrs. Coyle, Owen Wingrave, in collaboration with the National Orchestral Institute as well as covering the Vixen, The Cunning Little Vixen, and Ginevra, Ariodante. More recently, she was seen with Annapolis Opera as Lucinda & the Cinderella cover in Into the Woods. This particular show holds a special place in her heart having been in 3 productions thus far and playing her favorite role of all time - the Baker’s Wife - during her time in undergrad at Vanderbilt University. Her goal is to play every woman in the show! Although at this point, she might have missed her chance at Little Red…
Her passion for embodied storytelling led her to directing…
During her time with the Maryland Opera Studio (MOS), Ridge discovered her passion for leading embodied storytelling which in turn led her to pursue stage directing. After several opportunities as Assistant Director for operas including Ceiling/Sky, InSeries, La bohème, Annapolis Opera, and Die Zauberflöte, MOS, Ridge made her stage directing debut as the Director of La bohème for MOS in Fall 2022. As an advocate of opera for all ages, Ridge has also directed opera scenes programs for the Duke Ellington Performing Arts High School and Prague Summer Nights and performs as an Outreach Artist with Opera Baltimore in local schools.
Ridge is a certified Consent-Forward Artist with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators.
Ridge holds degrees in opera performance from Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland and currently resides in Washington, DC. In her free time, she enjoys dreaming up new projects and frequenting her favorite DC restaurants with her amazing husband Jordan.