The annual Rieman Opera Competition celebrates the legacy of Amelia Tataronis Rieman, a devoted patron of opera and education whose generous endowment continues to uplift vocal excellence at the University of Arizona. Open to both undergraduate and graduate voice students, the competition awards scholarships to emerging opera talent. A passionate lover of music with a remarkable life story marked by perseverance and philanthropy, Mrs. Rieman established this competition—and later the Rieman Chair in Opera—to ensure ongoing support for student performers, master classes, and high-quality productions. Her vibrant spirit and enduring generosity continue to inspire our community.
Free and open to the public.
Please note, event duration is approximate.
For a parking map, including accessible parking spaces and entrances, please visit music.arizona.edu/parking-map
Meet our Judges
KIMBERLY CHAFFIN, soprano, graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona. Her operatic roles at the U of A included Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Magda in La Rondine, Alice Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte; at UNC, she performed Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. Kimberly’s musical theater roles with Arts Express include Mary in Follow the Star, The Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, Lily Craven in The Secret Garden, and Agnus in I Do! I Do!
Mrs. Chaffin made her debut with Passion Project: Opera! last spring, performing the role of Suzel in L’amico Fritz. She has performed solo roles in oratorios and cantatas, such as the Fauré Requiem, the Mozart Requiem, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Tucson Repertory Orchestra and Masterworks Chorale, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Tucson Chamber Artists, and Handel’s Messiah with the Tucson Sing-In. Kimberly has also sung with the Arizona Opera Chorus for 16 years. She is an Opera Teaching Artist in the OMA Program (Opening Minds through the Arts). This is a student achievement program, developed within the Tucson Unified School District, that integrates all the arts (opera in the first grade) with the tested curriculum. Mrs. Chaffin loves to share her passion for music and theater with all ages!
MICHAEL CHAFFIN is a versatile tenor with a performance background spanning opera, oratorio, musical theatre, jazz, gospel, R&B/soul, contemporary Christian, rock, funk, and pop. Known for his engaging stage presence and expressive musicianship, he brings authentic performances that connect with audiences across a wide range of genres and styles. Michael holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Northern Colorado.
Michael has appeared in numerous productions with Arizona Opera, including Rigoletto, Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’elisir d’amore, The Flying Dutchman, and L’italiana in Algeri. He has performed with various opera other companies as well, and his operatic repertoire features roles such as Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Prunier (La Rondine), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Nika Magadoff the Magician (The Consul), Blind (Die Fledermaus), The Beast (Giannini’s Beauty and the Beast), Mr. Splinters (The Tenderland), Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Federico (L’amico Fritz), among others.
A seasoned soloist, Mr. Chaffin has performed major works including Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Israel in Egypt, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Coffee Cantata, and Hailstork’s tenor cantata I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, with ensembles such as Tucson Chamber Artists (now True Concord). On the musical theatre stage, Michael has recently performed as Michael in the two-person musical I Do! I Do!, Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden, and Bob Cratchit in A Christmas Carol.
In addition to his performance work, Mr. Chaffin is committed to helping others grow in healthy technique, stylistic versatility, and compelling communication. He has taught private voice for 17 years and currently teaches at his full-time studio, Vocal Edge School of Music LLC. His students have earned competition honors, been accepted into top college and conservatory programs, and several are performing professionally.
Michael was a pioneering teaching artist who helped develop the opera component of Opening Minds Through the Arts (OMA) in Tucson Unified School District. He currently teaches choir at Veritas Academy of Tucson and has previously served as choral director at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy and in several churches.
KRISTEN CLOUGH is a musicologist and opera scholar whose research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing together techniques of inquiry across disciplines including opera and theater studies, cultural histories, political studies, colonial studies, and gender and identity research. Her current book project questions the assumption that opera in the postwar period in France was stagnant and instead paints a dynamic picture of the operatic field—and its political power—both in Paris and in the often-neglected French provinces and radiophonic spaces. She has presented her work on Milhaud’s unpublished opera Bolivar as the winner of the 2024 scholarly paper competition at the National Opera Association conference and at the Princeton University conference “Within and Without Les Six at 100” in 2020. Clough received her Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Michigan in 2020 and a BA in Music Education summa cum laude from Providence College with a concentration in voice in 2010. Her research has been supported by a Lurcy Trust fellowship and Rackham dissertation fellowships. She has served on panels for Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Gershwin Critical Edition and has written an opera guide for the Michigan Opera Theatre. Clough currently serves as an Executive Editor for the National Opera Association’s scholarly publication The Opera Journal and teaches in the School of Music at the University of Arizona.