Biography
Praised for her “warm, colorful mezzo” by Opera News, Sophie Michaux has become one of Boston’s most versatile and compelling vocalists. Born in London and raised in the French alps, Sophie’s unique background informs her artistic identity, making her feel at home in an eclectic span of repertoire ranging from grand opera to French cabaret songs.
The current season brings a number of exciting engagements for Sophie including a solo recital of Barbara Strozzi’s vocal music at the Fundazione Cini in Venice, Italy. She also appears as alto soloist in the Mozart and the Duruflé Requiem with the Choirs of the Trinity Church of Boston and in Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with the LaFarge Ensemble. She will be featured soloist with Musicians of the Old Post Road in their Christmas Pilgrimage concert, and joins Stile Moderno for a program of John Dowland lute songs in Boston and Brattleboro, VT.
A consummate singing actor, Sophie is known for her committed portrayals of a wide variety of demanding roles on the opera stage. Sophie recently appeared as Ceres in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Lalande’s rarely-staged Les Fontaines de Versailles, garnering acclaim from the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “astonishing range and flexibility.” She has sung the title roles of La Cenerentola (NEMPAC), Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Brittenica), and Rinaldo (Boston Opera Collaborative) for which she was nominated as Best Female Performer in an Opera for the 2015 Arts Impulse Theatre Awards. Sophie has enjoyed the challenge of interpreting a number of modern and contemporary opera roles, among them Anne in To Hell and Back by Jake Heggie (Boston Opera Collaborative), Mrs. Soames in Our Town by Ned Rorem (Boston Opera Collaborative), Higuchi in Troubled Water by Mischa Salkind-Pearl (Guerilla Opera), and Ceres in The Tempest by Joseph Summer (The Shakespeare Concerts).
A 2019 Finalist in the New York Oratorio Society Competition, Sophie is a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. Recent engagements include the Bach Magnificat (New England Classical Singers), Beethoven’s Mass in C (Chorus of Westerly), Handel’s Messiah (Trinity Church of Boston), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Metropolitan Chorale), and many others.
Sophie is a proud core member of Lorelei Ensemble, Boston’s groundbreaking professional women’s ensemble. With Lorelei, she has performed alongside the Boston Symphony Orchestra, A Far Cry, and others, and been featured soloist in numerous works from Renaissance polyphony to Björk. This season, Sophie joins Lorelei for a busy concert schedule both in Boston and on national tour. She has also sung extensively with Blue Heron and is a frequent professional ensemble member with Boston Lyric Opera. She can be heard on recordings with BEMF, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, La Cappella Mediterranea, The Revels, The Shakespeare Concerts, and Northern Harmony.
In addition to classical music, Sophie is passionate about performing folk music, world music, and popular song literature. She is a founding member of Sophie et Adam, a folk music duo with guitarist and singer Adam Jacob Simon, which recently presented an Edith Piaf Tribute Night at Cambridge’s Club Passim. She is also the founder of Culomba, a world music vocal ensemble that audaciously brings together audiences to experience the beauty and diversity of vocal music from very disparate styles, time periods, and regions. She has toured extensively with Northern Harmony, an ensemble that is renowned for its command of varied world ethnic singing styles from the Balkans, the Republic of Georgia, South Africa, and the United States.
Sophie belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. Through her performances, she supports The Ocean Clean Up, 350.org (Climate Change), and Give Directly (Direct Poverty Relief).
The current season brings a number of exciting engagements for Sophie including a solo recital of Barbara Strozzi’s vocal music at the Fundazione Cini in Venice, Italy. She also appears as alto soloist in the Mozart and the Duruflé Requiem with the Choirs of the Trinity Church of Boston and in Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with the LaFarge Ensemble. She will be featured soloist with Musicians of the Old Post Road in their Christmas Pilgrimage concert, and joins Stile Moderno for a program of John Dowland lute songs in Boston and Brattleboro, VT.
A consummate singing actor, Sophie is known for her committed portrayals of a wide variety of demanding roles on the opera stage. Sophie recently appeared as Ceres in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Lalande’s rarely-staged Les Fontaines de Versailles, garnering acclaim from the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “astonishing range and flexibility.” She has sung the title roles of La Cenerentola (NEMPAC), Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Brittenica), and Rinaldo (Boston Opera Collaborative) for which she was nominated as Best Female Performer in an Opera for the 2015 Arts Impulse Theatre Awards. Sophie has enjoyed the challenge of interpreting a number of modern and contemporary opera roles, among them Anne in To Hell and Back by Jake Heggie (Boston Opera Collaborative), Mrs. Soames in Our Town by Ned Rorem (Boston Opera Collaborative), Higuchi in Troubled Water by Mischa Salkind-Pearl (Guerilla Opera), and Ceres in The Tempest by Joseph Summer (The Shakespeare Concerts).
A 2019 Finalist in the New York Oratorio Society Competition, Sophie is a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. Recent engagements include the Bach Magnificat (New England Classical Singers), Beethoven’s Mass in C (Chorus of Westerly), Handel’s Messiah (Trinity Church of Boston), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Metropolitan Chorale), and many others.
Sophie is a proud core member of Lorelei Ensemble, Boston’s groundbreaking professional women’s ensemble. With Lorelei, she has performed alongside the Boston Symphony Orchestra, A Far Cry, and others, and been featured soloist in numerous works from Renaissance polyphony to Björk. This season, Sophie joins Lorelei for a busy concert schedule both in Boston and on national tour. She has also sung extensively with Blue Heron and is a frequent professional ensemble member with Boston Lyric Opera. She can be heard on recordings with BEMF, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, La Cappella Mediterranea, The Revels, The Shakespeare Concerts, and Northern Harmony.
In addition to classical music, Sophie is passionate about performing folk music, world music, and popular song literature. She is a founding member of Sophie et Adam, a folk music duo with guitarist and singer Adam Jacob Simon, which recently presented an Edith Piaf Tribute Night at Cambridge’s Club Passim. She is also the founder of Culomba, a world music vocal ensemble that audaciously brings together audiences to experience the beauty and diversity of vocal music from very disparate styles, time periods, and regions. She has toured extensively with Northern Harmony, an ensemble that is renowned for its command of varied world ethnic singing styles from the Balkans, the Republic of Georgia, South Africa, and the United States.
Sophie belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. Through her performances, she supports The Ocean Clean Up, 350.org (Climate Change), and Give Directly (Direct Poverty Relief).
Photo credit: Asher + Oak Photography