Olivia Yokers, a rising talent in the United States opera scene, began her career here in Hamilton, acting and singing in multiple plays a year throughout her childhood with the various theater groups in Hamilton Ohio, including Greater Hamilton Civic Theatre. This love, however, started at home.
“I come from a musical family,” she says. “I developed a love of singing at a young age, and both my Dad and my sister are also musicians.”
Yokers began her studies as a teenager with the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s prep department. She then went on and earned both her Bachelor and Master of music at Indiana University. There she learned the techniques of classical singing, which require concentration and focus far different from the average casual singer.
“Because we live in the age of amplification, many people don’t know that we don’t use microphones at all,” Yokers explains. “Even if you go to one of the largest United States opera houses, with a 60-person orchestra playing, the singer is on their own. They need to have the technique and breath support to sustain themselves singing for 3 hours over an orchestra.”
Yokers and other opera singers must stay very healthy and strong to be able to manage this feat in multiple performances in a given week.
She began her career after her education as a resident artist with the Virginia Opera, where she was able to perform roles such as, Berta in The Barber of Seville. Yokers was also a part of Virginia Opera’s educational outreach and had the opportunity to perform and share her love of opera with hundreds of elementary schools throughout Virginia.
Yokers participates in “audition seasons,” where she auditions for multiple companies and chooses where to venture next. Her career has thus far taken her to Utah, New York, and Lousiana, among other locations, for both auditions and roles in various companies. Next, she’ll be playing the role of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with the Dayton Opera on March 2nd and 3rd.
“I’ve done this role before and I love it,” says Yokers. “She’s a very fun character in a hilarious opera, and any opportunity I have to do comedy, I will take it.”
While there have certainly been many high moments already in her career, Yokers points to a favorite moment that occurs in nearly every opera performance: the finale song.
“My favorite moment is singing with a full orchestra in the big finale of the opera,” she says. “Everyone on stage is going and the orchestra is going and you have a massive amount of collaborative sound going into the theater – there’s nothing better.”
In the future, Yokers intends to continue auditioning and singing with various influential opera companies, splitting her time between various cities, but she harbors fond feelings for the arts community of Hamilton.
“I grew up with the people and directors here; it’s what I lived for, no matter what show I was in,” she said. “Hamilton is a very special place for community theater, and I didn’t know how lucky I was.”
Yokers may have travelled far and wide, but her most influential figures, even beyond her many directors, instructors, and supporters, are her own parents, back here in Hamilton.
“They were the only ones who drove me to Cincinnati, put up with 11pm rehearsals, and all with other daughters,” she says. “They sacrificed their time to make sure I was happy, so they are definitely my most influential people.”
You can check out where Olivia Yokers will be singing next on her website, www.oliviayokers.com.