Soprano Erika Rauer is acclaimed for the rich sound she brings to recital, chamber, and operatic literature. Her “dark and sultry” vocal color (Schenectady Daily Gazette) has allowed her to sing a wide range of roles during her career.

In January 2025, Erika made her debut in the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto with Eugene Opera. She returns to Eugene Opera in May for Almera in Dark Sisters by Nico Muhly, a role she covered in the premier production at Opera Company of Philadelphia and Gotham Chamber Opera. Other major operatic credits include the title role of Salome at Oper Bremen (Bremer Theater) in Germany, Abigail Williams in The Crucible with Opera Boston, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Mozart heroines performed have included Vitellia, Fiordiligi, and Donna Anna with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in New York City, Dorabella with the Britten-Pears at the Snape Proms Festival in Aldeburgh, England, as well as Cherubino and Second Lady with Yale Opera.

Recent solo recitals in Eugene, Oregon under the auspices of A² Productions have featured contemporary repertoire including Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi and George Crumb’s Apparition. Other performances have included Messiaen’s Harawi and Schumann’s Frauenliebe und leben. Recent performances of vocal chamber music have included Chausson’s Chanson perpetuelle, Ildebrando Pizzetti’s Tre canzoni, and excerpts from Lekeu’s Andromède with Chamber Music Amici, as well as Ravel’s Chansons madécasses in chamber recital. .

Symphonic and oratorio repertoire include Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 14 with the Franciscan Chamber Orchestra, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Albany Pro Musica, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Yale Philharmonia, She recently performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Bach Cantatas 191 and 152 with the Emerald Chamber Players, as well as the alto solos in the Vivaldi Gloria and Mozart Vespers at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts with Eugene Concert Choir.

Other chamber music highlights include a recital of Chinese yage at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Shostakovich cycles “From Jewish Folk Poetry” and “Seven Romances on Songs by Alexander Blok” at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and the New York premier of Hermann Reutter's “5 Antike Ode” for viola, piano and voice. 

Erika received professional training as a member of the Young American Artist’s Program at Glimmerglass Opera, as a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival for three seasons, and as a Chamber Music Fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. 

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from Swarthmore College and a Master of Music in voice from the Yale School of Music.