“We need expert care for our voices,” said the Los Angeles native opera singer, who moved to Southwest Ohio to sing for Cincinnati Opera. But over time, as she sang professionally, she needed those experts to help maintain her award-winning voice. Rivera was was one of three singers on the Grammy-winning Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears in 2007.
It may be a variation of a cliche, but Rivera has been singing since before she could remember, joked likely from birth. “I think I came out singing, from what I’ve been told.” Her talent, though, was discovered by extended family and friends of family who were music teachers. Her great aunt Catherine said she needs music lessons, and a friend of her great grandmother told her parents “you may have a prima donna on your hands.”
In opera, that’s the lead female role.
It wasn’t until she was planning a trip from Los Angeles to Ohio for the Cincinnati Opera that she realized the importance of medical professionals in her professional life. She was having some issues and was referred to an ENT, who said it was a serious sinus issue and that a plane ride would have severely impacted her voice.
The fix ended up being easy, though it delayed the trip, and from that point on, Rivera understood that an ENT “is an essential person on my team” as she continues to sing professionally. She has upcoming performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in Grass Valley, California; with the Rhode Island Symphony; and at the Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in addition to her university teaching role.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Before the COVID pandemic, Rivera initially became involved with World Voice Day through U.C. Health in Cincinnati. She spoke at an event, and a couple of years later, during the COVID pandemic shutdown, they held a virtual event. Rivera talked about a philosophy of a friend and colleague, Body, Mind, Voice and Spirit, as “it takes the whole person to sing and rejoice.”
“There was a period of my life, my singing life, where my spirit was broken,” she said, adding that her voice coach at the time told her, “‘We can fix what’s wrong with your voice; you need to heal your spirit.’ That really resonated with me.”
Then, when Rivera started working as a Miami University Oxford voice professor, Dr. Rebecca Howell, an otolaryngologist and surgeon at U.C. Health, asked if there could be a World Voice Day partnership between the hospital, the University of Cincinnati and Miami University.
In 2023, a version of World Voice Day was held at Miami in celebration of the late Dr. Sid Khosla, a U.C. Health otolaryngologist whom Rivera worked with, and an opera lover. She said his dream was to celebrate the worldwide voice event held every April 16.
In 2024, Rivera, professor Renee Gottliebson and Howell, representing University of Cincinnati and UC Health, led the way to having an official World Voice Day on the campus of Miami University.
This year, the event was held in Clifton on a bigger scale, and had “a very mixed gathering of lots of different people who had stories about their voice.”
“You don’t think about it consciously, but when you think about technology and yelling, ‘Hey Siri’ or ‘Alexa,’ and all these other modes of communication,” Howell said. “When you don’t have a voice that can be heard or understood, that’s a real problem in today’s world. It really isolates you. What ends up happening is that patients end up saying, ‘I don’t want to go out anymore.’”
Next year’s World Voice Day will return to Oxford, and while the theme has yet to be determined, Howell would like to see it focused on teachers, a group of professional voice users who need to protect their voices.
“Teachers oftentimes don’t give themselves enough credit for how often they use their voice,” Howell said. “Teachers, professors, I think this is a very important group because they are quite literally teaching our children.”
As this event grows locally every year, Rivera wants it to be for everyone. She views World Voice Day as a “holistic collaboration” on how people approach taking care of their voice, because in a way, everyone who has the ability to speak is a professional voice user, she said. The event is a chance to be mindful about how voices are used every day.
“Your voice creates your community,” she said.
“You might not do it professionally, but it might be something that really feeds your soul. And to be able to get together and do it in a community setting and learning how to do that in a way that is healthy from a vocal standpoint, and is also healthy for your soul and spirit, and feeds you in so many way, it really important.”
LEADING LADIES OF BUTLER COUNTY
This is part of a series of stories featuring women in Butler County who shape their communities. These stories will feature women who are leaders in small and large businesses, institutions, and organizations.
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