American soprano Danielle Ricki Dean launched her professional singing career at age 18 as a soloist with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra (Virginia, United States). Since then, she has graced major stages across the U.S., Europe, the UK, and Asia—including the Berliner Philharmonie, Berliner Dom, Lincoln Center, David Geffen Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center.

Her operatic debut came in 2009 as "Jenny Hildebrand" in Street Scene by Kurt Weill, followed by her international debut in Seoul, South Korea performing “Miss Silverpeal” (The Impresario) and “Suor Dolcina” (Suor Angelica) with the International Summer Music Institute & Festival.

Celebrated for her vocal versatility and artistic boldness, Ms. Dean has taken on unique roles such as “Giuseppe” in a reimagined La Traviata (Summer Garden Opera) and originated the role of “Minnijean Brown” in a preview of The Little Rock Nine by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and Kennedy Center Honoree Tania León at the MacDowell Music Colony.

Early roles include “Queen of the Night” in a touring Magic Flute with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the title role in Rodelina, “Norina” (Don Pasquale), “Musetta” (La Bohème), “Lucy” (The Telephone), and “Gianetta” (L’elisir d’amore), performed with companies such as Mannes Opera, George Mason Opera Theater, and the Bethesda Summer Music Festival.

A distinguished competitor, Danielle was recently awarded Second Prize in the London International Music Competition and Bronze in the Amadeus Music Awards. She is a first prize winner of The James Bland Music Competition, a two-time winner of the NATS Mid-Atlantic Competition, and a two-time honoree of the FMMC Sue Goetz-Ross Memorial Voice Competition. Her competition history also includes appearances at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Northeast Region), the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, and Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Competition.

Beyond opera, Danielle thrives in a variety of genres including pop, gospel, musical theater, and choral music. She made her television debut on PBS in 2015 backing Aloe Blacc for the Paul Newman Foundation Gala, and from 2016–2018 toured internationally with Donna Brown and the Golden Gospel Pearls (Berlin). She has performed with the acclaimed Rundfunk Chor Berlin, appeared on German national TV (ZDF MorgenMagazin), and featured in Vogue.com, Elle, Yahoo! News, HuffPost, and The New York Times for her New York Fashion Week collaborations with Grammy-nominated artist Erykah Badu.

Ms. Dean is a student of the legendary soprano Carol Vaness, and formerly studied under Beth Roberts Sebek, Patricia Miller, and the late Ruth Falcon.

Soli Deo Gloria.