Born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, mezzo-soprano Nicole Melissa Rivera is demonstrating her artistic versatility on the operatic stage, as a member of premier chamber choirs, and as a soloist. 

Nicole’s pursuit of a professional music career began at Stetson University  in DeLand, Florida, where she earned both a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. At Stetson University’s School of Music, Nicole was a scholarship student of Russell Franks, Director of Stetson Opera Theatre. She was a member of several ensembles including Stetson University’s premier Concert Choir, under the direction of Timothy Peter, in which she performed in New York City’s Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center in the spring of 2014.  On the operatic stage, she was cast as Friedericke in Stetson Opera Theatre's 2016 production of Oscar Straus's Ein Walzertraum. In April of 2015, she was named the third-place winner of Stetson University's prestigious H.M. Giffin Vocal Competition. Nicole excelled in both her music and academic careers, having received several scholarships and awards including the William E. Duckwitz Talent Scholarship and the Maris Prize for Undergraduate Research for her senior research work in psychology.

In addition to her involvement at Stetson University, Nicole performed in other Florida cities, as well as outside of the United States. She was seen as an opera chorus member in Vero Beach Opera's productions of Cavalleria Rusticana and Die Fledermaus. In the summer of 2015, she performed at the InterHarmony International Music Festival in Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany, where she was described as “undoubtedly, the most impressive talent of the night” in a review in the local newspaper. In addition, Ms. Rivera was a featured soloist in InterHarmony International Music Festival’s Heartstrings in a Chord concert at Carnegie Hall in April of 2016.

After finishing her undergraduate studies, Nicole moved to Chicago where she studied voice with David Alt and Elizabeth Byrne for several years. She earned a Master of Music degree at North Park University, under the tutelage of bass-baritone Sam Handley, where she was seen as The Gingerbread Witch in Hänsel und Gretel and the Spinster in Dominick Argento’s The Masque of Angels. Rivera was also the mezzo-soprano soloist in North Park University’s concertizing of Mozart’s Requiem. She also sang the role of Baba in Menotti’s The Medium with Chicago Summer Opera in July 2019. Most recently, Nicole completed a fellowship with the Grant Park Music Festival Project Inclusion Program in Summer 2022. Nicole currently resides in Chicago and studies with mezzo-soprano Anna Laurenzo.