Praised for her “warm, colorful mezzo” by Opera News, French mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux has become one of North-America’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 collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Bach Collegium San Diego, Dartmouth College Handel Society, The Lorelei Ensemble, Palaver Strings, Blue Heron, Ruckus, Upper Valley Baroque, and Lowell Chamber Orchestra. Engagements canceled due to the pandemic included the role of Siface in Cavalli’s Scipione Afficano (Haymarket Opera), a solo recital of Barbara Strozzi’s vocal music at the Fondazione Cini in Venice, Italy, as well as in Annecy, France, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra), and a solo collaboration with the Chorus of Westerley for their Spring Pops.
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).
Sophie is also a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. This fall, she will be the Alto soloist for Mozart’s Coronation Mass (Dartmouth College Handel Society), and Handel’s Dixit Dominos (Upper Valley Baroque). Recent engagements include the wold-premiere Paul Rudoi’s Transcendental Passion with the Boston Cecilia, Beethoven’s Mass in C Chorus of Westerly, Bach Magnificat with the New England Classical Singers, Handel’s Messiah with the Trinity Church of Boston, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Metropolitan Chorale, and many others.
Ms. Michaux’s numerous awards include the 2nd place at the 2021 Handel Aria Competition, the William Grogan Award in the 2022 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo. She was also a finalist in the Opera Columbus’ Cooper-Bing Competition, and in the 2019 Talent of the World Competition.
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. 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 the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, Palaver Strings, 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.
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Conductors
Thomas Adès Leonardo García Alarcón Marin Alsop Celso Antunes David Angus Steven Asbury Adam Boyles Simon Carrington Orlando Cela* Tiffany Chang Filippo Ciabatti Federico Cortese Jean-Marie Curti Gabriel Garrido Lisa Graham Giancarlo Guerrero Brett Hodgdon David Hodgkins Andrew Howell Fred Jodry Stefano Lano Colin Lynch Scott Metcalfe Andris Nelsons Paul O’Dette Tim Ribchester Gil Rose Robert Russell Michael Sakir Stephen Stubbs Kent Tritle* Craig Trompeter* Ruben Valenzuela Richard Webster Beth Willer Lidiya Yankovskaya *future performances |
Opera Houses/Concert Halls
Baldwin Auditorium, NC Boston Symphony Hall, MA Carnegie Hall, NY Caramoor Centre, NY Cathédrale St Pierre, Switzerland Central Square Theatre, MA Chicago Symphony Center, IL Davies Symphony Hall, CA* Distler Hall, MA Faneuil Hall, MA Fondazione Cini, Italy George Kent Hall, RI Grand Théatre de Genève, Switzerland Huntington Theatre, MA Jordan Hall, MA Kilbourn Hall, NY The Kennedy Center, DC* Knafel Center, MA Koussevitzy Music Shed, MA Mahaiwe, MA Musée-Château d’Annecy, France Pickman Hall, MA Plainfield Opera House, VT Sanders Theatre, MA Schermerhron Symphony Center, TN Seiji Ozawa Hall, MA The Sendesaal, Germany Shalin Liu Performance Center, MA Spaulding Auditorium, NH Somerville Theatre, MA Southern Theatre, OH Trinity Church of Boston, MA Weill Recital Hall, NY Weis Center, PA Westminster Abbey, UK Winchester Cathedral, UK Victoria Hall, Switzerland Zack Box Theatre, MA |
Stage Directors
Gilbert Blin Jim Findley Anne Kauffman David Lefkowich Allegra Libonati Joshua Major Rebecca Miller Roxana Myhrum Dona Roll Greg Smucker Eve Summer Patrick Swanson Gisele Ty Aria Umezawa Patricia Weinmann |
Collaborations
A Far Cry Bach Collegium San Diego Blue Heron Boston Early Music Festival Boston Lyric Opera Boston Opera Collaborative Boston Percussion Ensemble Boston Symphony Orchestra Cappella Mediterranea Capital City Concerts Chicago Symphony Orchestra ChoralArt Chorus of Westerly Culomba Dartmouth College Handel Society Ensemble Elyma Guerilla Opera Haymarket Opera* In Stile Moderno Lorelei Ensemble Long&Away Lowell Chamber Orchestra* Metropolitan Chorale Nashville Symphony Orchestra New England Classical Singers NEMPAC Palaver Strings The Revels Ruckus San Francisco Symphony Orchestra* Seven Times Salt The Shakespeare Concerts Upper Valley Baroque |
Photo credit: Asher + Oak Photography
