Rita Harvey grew up inspired by a diverse range of musical icons, from Barbra Streisand and Olivia Newton-John to Mirella Freni, Renée Fleming, Kathleen Battle, and Beverly Sills. “Those were some of my influences,” she says, “and that’s not even including musical theater. I love singing Joni Mitchell tunes. I have so many different styles of idols that I listen to that inspire me. So I’m all over the map.” It’s clear that crossover music has always been in her blood.
“I studied opera in undergrad and grad school, but I was always sneaking over to sing with the jazz band and wanting to audition for musical theater, not just opera,” Rita recalls. “Once in a while, I get some pushback for that—‘Oh, you’ve got to choose’—but I couldn’t help that. I just wanted to sing everything. So I did.”
Her love for versatility has taken her across multiple genres and stages. Rita has performed on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof and spent two and a half years in the national touring company of Phantom of the Opera. Other shows on her resume include The Prince and the Pauper, Frankenstein – The Musical, Oklahoma, Sweeney Todd, Carousel, and Brigadoon. She’s also graced the opera stage in roles from Le Nozze di Figaro to Die Fledermaus.
A Voice for All Genres
Keeping her voice in peak condition is crucial to delivering the crystalline sound she’s known for. “It’s all the same technique, and it’s all the same voice,” Rita explains. “It’s not trying to physically change too much, but, yes, it is a style thing. It’s a vowel shape and a style thing where some of the songs are way more legit and operatic sounding, and then others are much more pop and musical theater.”
She emphasizes the importance of mastering versatility for sustaining a career in the arts. “To be versatile and to be able to keep working, I really trained myself to sing different styles too,” she says, citing examples like her work in Next to Normal, which uses a contemporary vocal style, and Fun Home, which she describes as “right on the edge of legit to mix.”
For Rita, the story always determines the vocal approach. “It’s less about having it be a full, rich, operatic sound, and more about what is appropriate for that story you’re telling,” she explains. “It’s always been more storytelling-driven, just more conversational.”
Teaching and Collaboration
As a music teacher, Rita instills these principles in her students. “It needs to be, especially if it’s coming from musical theater, the way you speak—just sustained speech, sustained through the phrase, on pitches, on a melody,” she says. “As long as it is supported by the breath and in a very resonant place—not muscular—then you’re good.”
Her versatility also shines in her collaboration with composer Peter Danish. “Peter and I really worked hard on figuring out what the sound was going to be for this album and the next one,” Rita says. “We didn’t want to go full ethereal Enya, but we wanted it to be very light. I have a lighter voice, so we wanted it to be meditative, calm, and gentle, but then it gets bigger.” Together, they experimented with vocal styles, incorporating early music techniques and subtle straight tones to achieve the perfect sound.
“Simple Prayers” and Magical Harmonies
Rita and Peter’s friendship with her husband, Neil Berg, has been a longstanding one. “The three of us have always been very close,” Rita shares. “During COVID, Peter and I started working more seriously together, and it turned into an album, Simple Prayers for Challenging Times.”
Working together in the studio was both intimate and innovative. “It was just Peter and me in a small studio with a mask on, a really nice microphone, and his laptop,” Rita recalls. They would try out phrases, add harmonies, and develop arrangements on the spot.
Harmony played a pivotal role in creating a magical effect. “Like the Ukrainian prayer,” Rita explains. “It sounds like there’s a string quartet, but it also sounds like a four-part quintet over the top, because I sang all four parts. It was so fun to hit the sweet spot of the harmonies and say, ‘Oh, but then, if we can do this ‘and on the spot, we just ‘figured out arrangements… It really feel like we’re giving our audience something kind of magical.”
Don’t Miss Part II of Crossover Deep Dive!
Rita Harvey and Peter Danish continue to inspire with their collaboration. Tune in for Part II of Crossover Deep Dive on Thursday, November 28, at 6 PM EDT on YouTube and Channel 10 in Connecticut. Accompanied by Jillian Emerson on cello and Adam Gloc on keyboard, they’ll perform four songs from their album Simple Prayers for Challenging Times and their yet-to-be-released record.
Part I is available to stream on demand.
