Known for her “rich voice and noble phrasing,” (NYT) Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic this season as Schwertleite in Act III of Die Walküre led by Gustavo Dudamel, and joins Washington National Opera as Tituba in Robert Ward’s The Crucible. Elsewhere in concert, she appears with the Jacobs School of Music for Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Moses. Ms. Miller enjoyed a richly varied 2024-2025 season. In the fall, she returned to The Metropolitan Opera, singing the Voice from Above in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and covering Antonia’s Mother in Les contes d’Hoffmann. She also appeared with the Pacific Symphony as Erda in Das Rheingold, the Columbus Symphony for Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, and debuted with Kentucky Opera for the premiere of This Little Light of Mine, portraying the prominent civil rights activist Fanny Lou Hamer.
Ronnita Miller is a frequent collaborator with internationally-renowned conductors and symphony orchestras. She made her debut at the Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam as Fricka in a performance of Die Walküre, conducted by Jaap van Zweden, and in the US, has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana under the baton of Riccardo Muti (recorded and released on the CSO Resound label), as well as Schwerteite in Die Walküre with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ms. Miller made her role debut as Fricka with the Odense Symphony Orchestra under the baton of the late Alexander Vedernikov, and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, she sang Schwertleite in Die Walküre at Tanglewood. In the UK, she appeared as First Norn at the Edinburgh International Festival with Sir Andrew Davis, and at Brighton Festival, Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
Guest appearances of Ms. Miller's include the role of Amando in Le Grand Macabre under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle with both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Verdi’s Requiem at Staatsoper Hannover. She joined the Cincinnati May Festival for both the Mahler's Eighth Symphony and a special anniversary performance of Nathaniel Dett's The Ordering of Moses under the baton of James Conlon, which was also presented at New York’s Carnegie Hall in a live broadcast performance. Other notable recent appearances include San Diego Symphony, and North Carolina Symphony for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra as Gaea in Strauss' Daphne, and recitals with New World Symphony and the Merola Festival.
Equally at home on stage, Ms. Miller’s recent operatic highlights include: her return to The Metropolitan Opera as Big Stone in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, The Atlanta Opera as Erda in Das Rheingold, Detroit Opera (formerly Michigan Opera Theater) and Opera Omaha as Ella in a new production of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, a role she also performed and recorded with Boston Modern Opera Project, Erda and First Norn at San Francisco Opera and performances at Semperoper Dresden as Erda under the baton of Christian Thielemann; Lyric Opera Chicago in her signature role of Erda in Siegfried; further performances of Erda in Das Rheingold at Teatro Real, Madrid; The Metropolitan Opera as First Norn in Götterdämmerung, and her debut as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff with Los Angeles Opera, where she also sang Mary in Der Fliegende Holländer, a role she also performed at the Ravinia Festival.
Ms. Miller was member the ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2013-14 season and made her house and role debut as Fenena in Nabucco, additionally singing Grimgerde in Die Walküre and First Norn in Götterdämmerung. She spent seven seasons there, singing other roles including: Anna in Les Troyens, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Mary in Der fliegende Holländer, Madelon in Andrea Chenier, Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Bianca in The Rape of Lucretia, Alice in Lucia di Lammermoor, Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin, Wowkle in La Fanciulla del West, Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande, Handmaiden in L’invisible, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Marthe Schwertlein in Faust and Maddalena/Giovanna in Rigoletto.
In addition to performing, Ms. Miller has conducted masterclasses at St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida, outreach classes in NYC, written for online publications including Interview En L'air, and has taught private lessons.
