A native of the Pittsburgh area, Liz graduated with a BS in Music Education from Duquesne University, where she learned the importance of music accessibility for an audience. She continued her study of coloratura soprano under the tutelage of Mary Beth Sederburg, and currently studies with Anna Singer.
Liz holds creator credits for writing and performing in original shows, along with her long-term creative partner, Bonnie Bogovich. The first project is a multi-media opera entitled Evenings in Quarantine: The Zombie Opera (2010-2011), followed by Super Smash Opera (2014-2016), and Aria Kart (2018) in which they re-lyricise opera’s most beloved tunes to fit new original stories highlighting themes from beloved Nintendo games. These projects enjoyed considerable audience attendance, in some cases, packing the house to capacity.
In Summer of 2016, Rishel worked with a team of librettists who undertook that challenge of re-writing the lyrics to Mozart’s Don Giovanni, blending it with themes from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to celebrate Undercroft Opera’s ten year anniversary.In 2017, Liz and others from the Don Giovanni writing team rolled their libretto-writing experience into the production of a Radio Play podcast of Bram Stoker’s Dracula under their production name, The Cryptic Canticles.Liz is currently working on a new opera film project, a steampunk ghost story set in Industrial Revolution Pittsburgh, designed for a rock band of opera singers, entitled Steam ~ or ~ The Specters of the Knox Mill. Liz’s ultimate endeavor in all of her creative works is to create connections to opera for mainstream audiences, fanning the flames of interest in the field that she loves devotedly.Liz’s voice can be heard on several albums of the Materia Collective, which specializes in fan tribute albums for popular video games. She enjoys acting, having played “Carla” in the filmed exhibit for the haunted attraction, “Demon House”, voiced a popular character, “Betty”, in the CMU/iSafe educational video game, “Carnegie Cadets”, and “Lucy Westenra” on The Cryptic Canticles’ radio play podcast of Dracula.Liz designed and crafted costumes for The Zombie Opera, Super Smash Opera, and Steam. She is passionate about developing clothing that supports the characters and also includes functional special effects, including gore, puppet costumes, and even designed an on-stage costume changes.She frequently sews for business or pleasure, occasionally working with independent filmmakers and cosplayers. She has designed costumes for several different theater companies in Pittsburgh, as well as costuming for the Netflix series, Mindhunter, Season 2. When she is not performing or costuming, Liz teaches private voice lessons.
Cryptic Canticles 