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.
Recent solo engagements include a recital of Barbara Strozzi’s vocal music at the Fondazione Cini in Venice, Italy, the world premiere of Paul Rudoi's Our Transcendental Passion (Boston Cecilia), a New-England tour with Palaver Strings, among others. In 2022 - 2023 she will be part of the Lorelei Ensemble’s US tour, premiering Her Story by Julia Wolfe with the Boston, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco and National Symphony Orchestras.
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).
Winner of the 2nd place in the 2021 Handel Aria Competition in Madison WI, and of the William Grogan Award in the 2022 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Sophie is a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. Recent engagements include Bach's 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 member of the Blue Heron renaissance ensemble and the 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 can be heard on recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, La Cappella Mediterranea, The Revels, Palaver Strings 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).
Recent solo engagements include a recital of Barbara Strozzi’s vocal music at the Fondazione Cini in Venice, Italy, the world premiere of Paul Rudoi's Our Transcendental Passion (Boston Cecilia), a New-England tour with Palaver Strings, among others. In 2022 - 2023 she will be part of the Lorelei Ensemble’s US tour, premiering Her Story by Julia Wolfe with the Boston, Chicago, Nashville, San Francisco and National Symphony Orchestras.
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).
Winner of the 2nd place in the 2021 Handel Aria Competition in Madison WI, and of the William Grogan Award in the 2022 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Sophie is a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. Recent engagements include Bach's 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 member of the Blue Heron renaissance ensemble and the 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 can be heard on recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, La Cappella Mediterranea, The Revels, Palaver Strings 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
Thomas Adès* Leonardo García Alarcón Marin Alsop* Celso Antunes David Angus Steven Asbury Adam Boyles Simon Carrington Tiffany Chang 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 Gianandrea Noseda* Paul O’Dette Tim Ribchester Gil Rose Robert Russell Michael Sakir Stephen Stubbs Kent Tritle* Craig Trompeter* 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 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 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 Blue Heron Boston Early Music Festival Boston Lyric Opera Boston Opera Collaborative Boston Percussion Ensemble Boston Symphony Orchestra Cappella Mediterranea ChoralArt Chorus of Westerly Culomba Ensemble Elyma Guerilla Opera Haymarket Opera* In Stile Moderno Lorelei Ensemble Long&Away* Metropolitan Chorale New England Classical Singers NEMPAC Palaver Strings The Revels Ruckus* Seven Times Salt The Shakespeare Concerts |
Photo credit: Asher + Oak Photography
