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, as well as in Annecy, France, and Boston. She also appears with The Boston Cecilia in their Transcendental Passion, as well as in The Chorus of Westerly’s Spring Pops. She was a featured soloist with Musicians of the Old Post Road in their Christmas Pilgrimage concert, and joined In 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 (2020 GRAMMY nominee for Best Opera Recording), 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 on the concert platform include the Bach Magnificat (New England Classical Singers) and B Minor Mass (ChoralArt), Beethoven’s Mass in C (Chorus of Westerly), Duruflé’s Requiem (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, and The Shakespeare Concerts.
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, as well as in Annecy, France, and Boston. She also appears with The Boston Cecilia in their Transcendental Passion, as well as in The Chorus of Westerly’s Spring Pops. She was a featured soloist with Musicians of the Old Post Road in their Christmas Pilgrimage concert, and joined In 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 (2020 GRAMMY nominee for Best Opera Recording), 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 on the concert platform include the Bach Magnificat (New England Classical Singers) and B Minor Mass (ChoralArt), Beethoven’s Mass in C (Chorus of Westerly), Duruflé’s Requiem (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, and The Shakespeare Concerts.
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).
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Conductors
Leonardo García Alarcón Celso Antunes David Angus Steven Asbury Adam Boyles Simon Carrington Tiffany Chang Federico Cortese Jean-Marie Curti Gabriel Garrido Lisa Graham Brett Hodgdon David Hodgkins Andrew Howell Fred Jodry Stefano Lano Colin Lynch Andris Nelsons Paul O’Dette Tim Ribchester Gil Rose Robert Russell Michael Sakir Stephen Stubbs Richard Webster Beth Willer Lidiya Yankovskaya |
Opera Houses/Concert Halls
Boston Symphony Hall, MA Carnegie Hall, NY Caramoor Centre, NY Central Square Theatre, MA Cathédrale St Pierre, Switzerland Distler Hall, MA Faneuil Hall, MA Fundazione Cini, Italy George Kent Hall, RI Grand Théatre, Switzerland Huntington Theatre, MA Jordan Hall, MA Knafel Center, MA Mahaiwe, MA Musée-Château d’Annecy, France Pickman Hall, MA Plainfield Opera House, VT Sanders Theatre, MA Seiji Ozawa Hall, MA The Sendesaal, Germany Shalin Liu Performance Center, MA Somerville Theatre, MA Southern Theatre, OH Trinity Church of Boston, MA Weis Center, PA Westminster Abbey, UK Winchester Cathedral, UK Victoria Hall, Switzerland Zack Box Theatre, MA |
Stage Directors
Gilbert Blin Jim Findley David Lefkowich Allegra Libonati Joshua Major Rebecca Miller Roxana Myhrum Dona Roll Greg Smucker Eve Summer Patrick Swanson Gisele Ty Aria Umezawa Patricia Weinmann |
Photo credit: Asher + Oak Photography
