Amber R. Monroe Soprano
A native of Youngstown, Ohio joining the Cafritz Young Artists for the 2021-22 season, Amber R. Monroe has been recognized as “a crystalline lyric soprano and a superb singing actress” (Seen and Heard-International). She recently made her Opera Columbus debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her professional credits include Nedda in I Pagliacci (El Paso Opera), Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Kentucky Opera), Clara in Porgy and Bess (Opera Western Reserve), and the title role in Nkeiru Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (Cleveland Opera Theater). She has also workshopped several profound contemporary operas including Blue by Jeanine Tesori and The Hours by Kevin Puts, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. In the summer of 2019, Monroe participated as an artist in the Merola Opera Program where she performed as Magda from La rondine in the Schwabacher Summer Concert, and Madame Lidoine from Dialogues des Carmélites in the Merola Grand Finale. While an artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, she was seen as the Rooster/Jay in The Cunning Little Vixen, and covered the role of Anna Sørenson in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. Recently a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, Ms. Monroe has also been awarded and placed in competitions such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, the Classical Singer Competition, and more. Monroe completed her studies at Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). During her time at CCM, she performed the Governess in The Turn of the Screw and was scheduled to sing Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte prior to its cancellation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.