The death of soprano Erie Mills is being reported today by Livermore Valley Opera (LVO), where she was artistic director.
“The internationally acclaimed coloratura soprano Erie Mills passed away on June 23, 2026, at the age of 73,” the company announced, adding that Mills was honored as Artistic Director Laureate and a legacy fund has been established in her name.
LVO Music Director Alexander Katsman told SF Classical Voice:
“Erie was an invaluable leader of Livermore Valley Opera. She had a vision and pedigree to bring the company to the next level of artistry and professionalism. With her, LVO was able to expand the repertory and produce such operas as Eugene Onegin, A Florentine Tragedy, Of Mice and Men, and Three Decembers.
[She] was a wonderful colleague and friend. Working with her was always a discovery of what is possible, new and exciting. I always admired her integrity, her energy and her total dedication to the highest level of our art.”
As a soprano, Mills had a global career of more than three decades, a great deal of it with San Francisco Opera and Bay Area organizations, but also with the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna Staatsoper, English National Opera, Santa Fe Opera, among many others.
In concerts, Mills appeared with the orchestras of Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles, and the VARA Radio Orchestra at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
The announcement from Livermore said, “She led the company’s artistic vision since 2016 and had been a devoted champion of LVO since 2009. Her warmth, artistry, and belief in the power of live opera shaped the company and touched everyone who worked alongside her.”
Conductor Nicholas McGegan told SF Classical Voice:
“I was so sorry to hear that Erie has now joined the heavenly choir. She was a wonderful singer and a superb teacher. She will be sorely missed by all those who knew her, heard her, and learned from her.”
Mills’s signature roles included Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, and Giunia in Mozart’s Lucio Silla.
Her portrayal of Cunegonde at New York City Opera was broadcast nationally on PBS’s “Live from Lincoln Center.” Mills’s recordings include Stephen Sondheim’s Follies (RCA); the Grammy Award-winning Candide (New World Records), and her solo album of American songs, always it's Spring (VAI, 1997).
Born in Granite City, IL, Mills graduated from the College of Wooster and the University of Illinois, and began her career as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Her awards included a Richard Tucker Foundation grant in 1984, the Distinguished Alumni Award (1989), and an honorary Doctorate in Music (1993) from the College of Wooster.
In 1998, Erie Mills joined the music faculty of San José State University, devoting herself to the education and training of young singers. She retired from SJSU in 2008 as a full Professor of Music.
From 2004 on, she served as the principal English diction coach for Opera Theatre of St. Louis and master teacher for the Gerdine Young Artist program. She also worked as English diction coach on the staffs of the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Philadelphia.
She taught master classes throughout the country and adjudicated frequently for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and for the National Association of Teachers of Singing. From 2004 to 2010, she served on the OPERA America Board of Directors, the first singer ever named to the board.
Mills is survived by her husband, Thomas Rescigno, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The couple resided in San Francisco, and maintained a second home near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
