ABOUT MICHELLE

Praised for her “well-rounded, creamy soprano” by MusicalAmerica, Michelle Trovato is quickly becoming recognized internationally for her warm and agile voice and dynamic stage presence. Of a recent performance of Don Giovanni with DC Public Opera, the Washington Post raved: “…only Michelle Trovato’s Donna Anna was vocally outstanding”. 

Ms. Trovato’s 2013-14 season highlights include debuts with the Philharmonic of Southern New Jersey for their Viva Verdi! Gala and with the Spokane Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She also travels to Martha’s Vineyard as a featured performer in the annual Food and Wine Festival and sings with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, as Mimi in La Boheme (excerpts). Michelle is thrilled to join DC Public Opera for their inaugural production of Don Giovanni in the role of Donna Anna, and will also make role debuts as Liu in Turandot and Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte. The 2014-15 season will begin with an appearance with Opera Dolce in their “Homage to Carlos Gomes”, Handel’s Messiah with Orchestra of the Bronx, and a solo recital with Park Avenue Arts in NYC. 

Ms. Trovato began the 2012-13 season with her debut as the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica on the Carl Pfeifer Performing Arts Stage in New Jersey and performed the World Premiere of a new orchestral arrangement of Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben with the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Arkady Leytush. Highlights of the 2011-12 season included the World Premiere of Hampson Sisler’s song cycle Five Sonnets from Shakespeare (released on MSR Classics Records) and scenes from I Pagliacci for her debut with the Crimea Philharmonic Orchestra, Ukraine. 

Her busy 2010-11 season included role debuts as Violetta in La Traviata with Pineda Lyric Opera in New Jersey, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Elite Artists’ Opera in Concert Series, and Zerline in the comic opera Fra Diavolo by Auber with the Bronx Opera Company. In the summer of 2011, she was a member of the Caramoor Festival’s Bel Canto Young Artists Program under the baton of Will Crutchfield and at the prestigious International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) in Montreal under the tutelage of Joan Dornemann. 

The 2009/2010 season featured several impressive role debuts: the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor with Center Stage Opera of Los Angeles, and in Anna Bolena with Opera Manhattan, where she was called “the true star of the evening” by critic David Browning. A favorite with audiences of Utah Festival Opera, she returned in the summer of 2010 to cover Metropolitan Opera soprano Jennifer Welch Babidge as Violetta in La Traviata, as a featured soloist in orchestral concerts and recitals, and was highlighted in an interview with video clips of her performance in “Carnevale Operafesta” on KSL TV News (NBC). Ms. Trovato also stepped in as a last-minute replacement in the role of Norina in Regina Opera’s production of Don Pasquale to glowing reviews. 

In the Fall of 2009, the dynamic young soprano traveled to Italy as the first American singer selected to compete in the Grand Finals Concert of the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico “P. Cappuccilli” and was distinguished in the Top Five. In the 2008-09 season, Michelle joined the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program, singing the roles of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin and Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the 2007-2008 season, Ms. Trovato made her debut with the Opera Colorado Orchestra as Norina in David Gately’s “Wild West” production of Don Pasquale for the student matinee performance. As a featured artist during the 2008 National Performing Arts Convention, she sang the role of Alba in Rodriguez’s La Curandera and scenes from John Adams’ A Flowering Tree. 

In concert, Ms. Trovato has appeared as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Empire State Sinfonia, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Spokane Symphony, Stamford Symphony, Orchestra of the Bronx, and the Jackson Symphony. Other oratorio highlights include: Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson and St. Nicholas Mass, Bach’s Magnificat in D, Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Chandos Anthem, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Faure’s Requiem, and Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer. An accomplished recitalist, she made her New York City recital debut at Trinity Wall Street Church in a program of classical song and has presented programs throughout North America. 

A graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Michelle has been awarded several scholarships and study grants that enabled her to do a summer study in Perugia, Italy at the University for Foreigners, and the prestigious Chautauqua Institute for Voice. She dominated the Les Azuriales Opera Young Singers’ Competition in France by winning 1st Prize and the Junior Prize for Most Promising Young Singer. She has also been awarded prizes from Opera Index, Inc., the International Festival Society, Schuyler Foundation for Career Bridges, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Concorso Lirico International Opera Competition U.S. Division (1st Place), the Liederkranz Foundation, the Marie Kraja International Opera Competition in Albania (3rd Prize), the Elaine Malbin Opera Competition (Top Prize), the St. Andrew’s Arts Council International Aria Competition (3rd Prize), and the Harold A. Norblum Outstanding Artist Award from Opera Colorado. Ms. Trovato is a student of Carol Kirkpatrick, author of ARIA READY: The Business of Singing.