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The Swiss soprano, Audrey Michael, studied first singing and dance in Lausanne, continued her training in Milan, and then at the Hochschule of Hamburg where she obtained her diploma of opera in 1976.
After finishing her studies, Audrey Michael joined the roster of the Opera of Hamburg and sang many roles there, including Les Nozze de Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Elexir d'Amore, Carmen, and Pelleas at Mélisande. From 1981 to 1985, she was engaged by the Opera of Düsseldorf and performed there roles as Mélisande, Pamina, Suzanne, Elisabeth (Elegy for Young Lovers by Henze), etc. She was invited by Herbert von Karajan to sing in the production of Parsifal at the Easter Festival of Salzburg, as well as in its recording with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Under the baton of Lorin Maazel, she took part in the recording of Luisa Miller, then with Carlo-Maria Giulini with that of Rigoletto.
Audrey Michael sang in Vienna under the baton of Jean-Claude Malgoire the role of Sextus in Titus by Gluck (concert version). She made her debut at the Festival of Aix-en-Provence in Orfeo by Monteverdi directed by Michel Corboz and put in scene by Claude Goretta, who made film starting from this production. In Geneva, she sang Les Sept péchés capitaux, in Mannheim the Countess (Les Nozze de Figaro), in Nancy Mélisande, in Frankfurt Micaela (Carmen) as well as Titania (Midsummer Night Dream by N. Britten), in Lausanne Monica (Medium with of Régine Crespin), Sextus (Clemenza di Tito by Gluck), and again at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, etc.
Parallel to her activities with the opera, Audrey Michael also appears in concerts in and in Lieder recitals. She was the guest of the Festivals Tibor Varga, of Saint-Denis, Göttingen, Chair-God, Buenos-Surfaces and Salzburg. Audrey Michael is very much in demand as concert singer and has sung under the direction of noted orchestral conductors, such as The Creation by Haydn with Ferdinand Leitner, Vespers by Monteverdi or Elias by Felix Mendelssohn with Michel Corboz, the Mass in C of Mozart with Armin Jordan, etc.
Audrey Michael took part in filmed operas: Le roi Pausole by Arthur Honegger, mise en scène by Düggeln, Jephté by Carissimi, Orfeo by Monteverdi produced by Claude Goretta, Titus by Gluck, Don Quichotte by Conti conducted by Rene Jacobs. She recorded in particular for Deutsche Grammophon, CBS, Erato, Harmonia Mundi, and Cascavelle. |
