Soprano Rochelle Bard has been described as an ‘exquisite singing actress.' Specializing in bel canto and Verdi repertoire, Ms. Bard made her debut in the title role of Norma with Knoxville Opera, for which critics proclaimed her: 'beautifully constructed and achingly gorgeous delivery, at times soft as a whisper, and at others thrilling in its altitude…she carried off the dramatic contrast between the grandeur of confident matriarchal strength and the rage of a spurned woman with as much believability as can be wrung out of the role.'

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The 2025 season includes a reprisal of the delightful title role in The Merry Widow with Maryland Opera, as well as Tosca on tour in Florida. 2024 also featured Tosca with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, her debut as the soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Knoxville Symphony, a French Grand Opera Jewels Concert with the Amadeus Orchestra with excerpts from Les Huguenots, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Faust, as well as La Forza del Destino and Il Trovatore with Maryland Opera. More Verdi was featured in concert including Aida, Ballo in Maschera, La Forza del Destino, and I Lombardi with Sarasota Opera and the Sarasota Orchestra.

 

The much-anticipated 2022-23 season begins with the debut role of warrior princess Odabella in Attila with Sarasota Opera, followed by a reprise of the intense Abigaille in Verdi's Nabucco with Opera Ithaca, and a return to the pinnacle role of Bellini's Norma with Opera Tampa in February 2023.

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The 2018-19 season included exciting role debuts as Abigaille in Nabucco with Sarasota Opera and the title role in Aida with Washington Opera Society, along with a company debut with Hawaii Opera Theater in the title role of Tosca.

Ms. Bard also performed her first Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with Opera Tampa, and the title role in Tosca with Opera Theater of Connecticut.. The 2016/2017 season began with the ruthless Lady Macbeth in Macbeth in Vermont, then Micaëla in Carmen in Connecticut, the title role in Tosca with MidAtlantic Opera in NJ, and the ill-fated queen in Donizetti's Maria Stuarda with Knoxville Opera. For her debut as Lady Macbeth, critics expressed: 'Her voice is rich and engaging, she is a wonder...This Lord and Lady engage each other with a sparkling intimacy that makes their 'road to hell' a very exciting one.'