emma rothfield is an operatic soprano, actor, occasional mover n shaker… etc.
This past June, Emma graduated with honors from Northwestern University with her M.M. in Voice & Opera (and got to sing the national anthem at the university-wide commencement ceremony in front of an audience that included personal deity Julianne Moore— hi, Julianne). Highlights of her degree included singing Erste Dame in Northwestern Opera Theatre’s Die Zauberflöte; Der Trommler in an AI-infused Der Kaiser von Atlantis under the baton of Alarm Will Sound’s Alan Pierson; and Mutter in Hänsel und Gretel. In May 2023, she rejoined the Lyric Opera of Chicago as part of their Lyric Unlimited initiative, covering the dual role of Sally Smith/Isis in the children’s opera The Scorpion’s Sting. In fall 2024, she took part in Rivendell Theatre Ensemble’s workshop of Nina/Violetta by Monica West as the “voice” of Nina. It’s not often that you get the chance to sing “Sempre libera” while self-accompanying on a synthesizer— but it’s pretty fun.
In the 2021-22 season, Emma was slated to join the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Proving Up, though the production ultimately fell victim to a wave of COVID-19 cancellations. That February, she participated in Lyric’s workshop of Caroline Shaw’s Four Portraits, part of a trio of new one-acts to be presented in the 2022/23 season under the title Proximity. June 2022 marked her third consecutive season as an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she portrayed Cobweb in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Emma received her B.M. from Northwestern University (cum laude 2020), where she completed a major in Voice & Opera, a minor in Comparative Literature, and a certificate in Musical Theatre. While there, she appeared frequently with Northwestern Opera Theatre, most notably as Mother in the Chicago premiere of David T. Little’s Dog Days, directed by Joachim Schamberger and conducted by Alan Pierson. Previously with Northwestern Opera Theatre, she performed as Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Héro in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict under the baton of maestro Patrick Furrer. She served as assistant director for Northwestern’s spring 2020 film production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo (and made a cameo as a very flustered nurse).
From 2017-2020, Emma was a member of the Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble under the baton of two-time Grammy winner Donald Nally, performing the works of Caroline Shaw, Christopher Cerrone, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Gabriel Jackson, among others. With BCE, Emma performed in Chicago Opera Theater’s concert presentation of Justine F. Chen’s The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing conducted by maestra Lidiya Yankovskaya.
As an actor, Emma’s Northwestern theater credits include Into the Woods (The Witch), Parade (Iola Stover), and Company (Vocal Minority). Most recently, she performed in the developmental production of Hans Christian Andersen, Tim McDonald’s musical adaptation of the 1952 film with music by Frank Loesser. She’s also collaborated with the American Music Theatre Project on workshops of Marie in Tomorrowland (Erato A. Kremmyda and Maggie-Kate Coleman, dir. Sam Pinkleton) and Something in the Game (Buddy Farmer and Michael Mahler, dir. David Bell).
Emma received two years of intensive Suzuki movement training as an acting student of Henry Godinez, and she plays the piano, violin, guitar, and ukulele with varying degrees of aplomb. She recently started teaching herself the bass guitar in order to better emulate Mitski, Tina Weymouth, and her dad, Ken (big shoutout to the Hal Leonard method book). Emma is also a trained dancer, with Actor’s Equity points for her experience in modern, jazz, tap, and acrobatics.
Emma hails from Woodbine, MD and now makes her home in New Orleans, LA, where she works with the New Orleans Opera. Her family is comprised of two wonderful parents, two smashing siblings, four Pembroke Welsh corgis, two cats, and one goldfish that her sister won at the county fair over a decade ago*. She is an avid weightlifter and will happily show off her clapping push-ups anytime, anywhere, much to the chagrin of friends and strangers alike. Her all-time favorite album is Jeff Buckley’s Grace. Everything she’s ever baked has turned out nearly inedible.
*June 2020 update: RIP goldfish