Lyric coloratura soprano Abigail Raiford has been praised
in the Tulsa World for her
“powerful, luxurious soprano voice,
as well as her wonderfully comic way of weeping as the woebegone Elvira” in Tulsa
Opera’s production of
Rossini’s
L’Italiana in Algeri. She makes her Carnegie Hall debut this spring as the soprano soloist in Taylor Scott
Davis’
Magnificat with Manhattan Concert Productions, and returns to Teatro Nuovo to
sing Lisa in Bellini’s La
Sonnambula. Most
recently, she was a National Finalist in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont
Competition, won both 1st Place and
Audience Favorite in the D’Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition with Opera
Tampa, received the Opera Index
Award from
the Opera Index Vocal Competition, and debuted with the Glacier Symphony
Orchestra as the soprano soloist in
Handel’s
Messiah. In 2024, she received 1st Place in the Camille Coloratura Awards and the
Charles Maggio Award as the
1st Runner
Up of Shreveport Opera’s Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition,
covered the role of Giulietta in
Bellini’s I
Capuleti e i Montecchi with Teatro Nuovo, and made her Lincoln Center debut
as the soprano soloist in Fauré’s
Requiem
with Manhattan Concert Productions in David Geffen Hall.
Last season held many exciting opportunities for her, including 4th Place in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont
Competition’s Midwest Regional, premiering a new English translation of Haydn’s Jupiter’s
Journey to
the Earth
as
Narcissa with the little OPERA theatre of ny, and singing the soprano solos in
Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the
York
Symphony Orchestra. Earlier in the season, she made concert debuts as the soprano soloist in Orff’s
Carmina
Burana with
the Emory University Symphony Orchestra & Choir and in Handel’s Messiah
with the Handel Choir of Baltimore, and
continued her work with Experiments in Opera for their program of five new
one-act operas, Five Ways to Die.

“Raiford […] displays a powerful, luxurious soprano voice, as well as a wonderfully comic way of
weeping
as
the
woebegone
Elvira.”
Tulsa World, 2022
Her training has taken her across the country and across the Atlantic. During the 2022
season, she made a splash during her first season with Central City Opera as a
Bonfils-Stanton Studio Artist. In the same weekend, she learned and performed the role
of Krysia in Heggie's Two Remain with mere hours of preparation, and then stepped in
as Ida in Die Fledermaus the following day. She was given the Central City Opera
Guild's McGlone Award at the end of the summer. As a Resident and Apprentice Artist
with Sarasota Opera, she has covered and performed multiple roles, including
singing
the role of Second Witch and taking the stage as Belinda for a family performance
of Dido & Aeneas. In 2021, she made her debut with St. Petersburg Opera
Company, covering Despina in Così fan tutte and singing Olympia in
Davies’ Pinocchio. In Europe, she spent a summer studying in the heart of Vienna, and
later traveled to Rome to work intensively with the incomparable soprano Mariella
Devia. She also participated in SongFest’s Professional Program, as a singer and
as
assistant stage director to faculty member, Amy Burton.
Among her accolades from competitions, she received an Encouragement Award from the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, won 2nd Prize in the SAS Performing
Arts Company Vocal Competition, named an Encouragement Award winner in the Student Division of the
inaugural Camille Coloratura Awards, and won both the
Mannes Concerto Competition and the University of Tulsa
Concerto-Aria Competition. In
2022,
she was awarded the prestigious Career Performance Grant from Sigma Alpha Iota,
2023 saw her being named a Grant Winner by the Career Bridges Foundation, and in
2024, she was given a grant through the
Anna Sosenko Assist Trust.
On the operatic stage, other highlights include the Queen of the Night (Die
Zauberflöte),
Despina (Così fan tutte), Rose Maurrant (Street Scene), First Lady (Die Zauberflöte),
Anicasia (La Dolorosa), and Yum-Yum (The Mikado). Her vocalism
has
thrilled
audiences on the concert stage as well, especially in Milhaud’s Chansons de
Ronsard with the Mannes Orchestra, and John Mackey’s Songs From the End
of
the
World with the University of Tulsa Wind Ensemble.
She completed her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the Mannes School of
Music as a
student of Amy Burton, where she was presented with the George and Elizabeth Gregory
Award for Excellence in Performing. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal
Performance from the University of Tulsa, under the tutelage of her mother,
Judith
Pannill Raiford.

Outside of her work as a soloist, she has enjoyed opportunities to perform in a
variety of professional ensembles. She recorded soundtracks for Ang
Lee's Gemini Man and Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling, performed
with Musica Sacra and the New York
Philharmonic for their concert
of Close Encounters of the Third Kind in David Geffen Hall, joined Essential
Voices for their performance in A Celebration of Women in the Arts at Alice
Tully Hall, and took part in the China Now Music Festival, singing in the
world premiere of Zhou Long's Mandarin oratorio Men of Iron and the Golden
Spike. She also sang the Knaben solo in the Bard Festival Chorale’s
performance of Richard Strauss’ An den Baum Daphne at Carnegie Hall. She
currently maintains her position as the Soprano 1 section leader in the choir
of The Church of the Holy Trinity on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
When she's not singing, she loves taking walks along the New York City
waterfront, working on puzzles, and playing video games, with her favorite
games coming from the Fire Emblem, Persona and Pokémon series. Outside of classical music, she is continually
inspired by the music of David Bowie, Tom Waits, the Dave Matthews Band,
Ben Folds, and Rosalía. She is a proud sister of Sigma Alpha Iota, and
has been an active member of the New York Alumnae Chapter since 2018. Her
most recent international trip took her to Tokyo, which captured her heart with
its natural and architectural beauty, culture and delicious food.
