Biography

Kathryn Riopel is a soprano from Elk Grove Village, IL. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice & Opera Performance and Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Northwestern University. While at Northwestern, she was a section leader in the Northwestern University Marching Band (Drum Line), choreographer and director of several Dance Department productions, member of the Opera Projects for Undergraduate Singers (OPUS) and Renaissance Singers, and soprano in the Bienen Contemporary and Early Vocal Ensemble under the baton of Donald Nally.

She relocated to Montreal, QC in 2022 and earned the Master’s of Music in Voice & Opera Performance at McGill University in 2024, studying with Dominique Labelle. Recent credits include the title role in Handel’s Semele (Opera McGill), Madame Z (lead role) in Brother 12: A Rock Opera, and soprano/alto soloist at Ascension of Our Lord Church in Westmount, Montreal QC. She was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Wirth Vocal Prize Competition at McGill University in March 2024. She will be singing the role of Aphrodite in the April 2025 world premier of the Sapphic Passion, a new oratorio developed by Sapphonix Collective (a queer multidisciplinary arts collective based in Montreal, QC).

She enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire including Baroque/early music, oratorio, opera, art song, musical theater, and choral works.