Michèle Bogdanowicz, Soprano
Pacific Opera Victoria
Despina in Così fan tutte
April, 2010
Michèle Bogdanowicz made her Pacific Opera Victoria debut in 2007 as Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni. She returns in April 2010 to perform Despina in Così fan tutte.
Canadian Michèle Bogdanowicz is poised to take a commanding place among the young sopranos of her generation. A 2007 Fellow at Ravinia's Steans Institute for Young Artists, she was chosen to present the world premiere of a set of songs by acclaimed American composer Jake Heggie and as a member of the prestigious Merola Program of the San Francisco Opera, she had a resounding success as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro.
A young Mozartean of note, Ms. Bogdanowicz also appeared in several recent productions of Don Giovanni as Zerlina (Opera Ontario, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Pacific Opera Victoria and Orchestra London) and sang Papagena in The Magic Flute in Andrew Porter's staging for the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble. As a member of the COC's Ensemble Studio, she appeared in mainstage productions of Carmen as Mercédès, Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale as New Ofglen and Albert Herring as Nancy. Recent engagements include Yum Yum in The Mikado for Toronto Operetta Theatre; Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and the Second Lady in The Magic Flute for Opera Hamilton; a programme of Berlioz and Mendelssohn with the Hamilton Philharmonic; Handel's Messiah with the Fanshawe Chorus London; Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle with the Ottawa Cantata Singers and an Opera Gala for Brott Summer Music. In May 2010 she sings Alexander Nevsky with the Ottawa Choral Society.
Her activities on the concert stage include a recital at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa broadcast by CBC's Radio Two, an appearance with the Ottawa Choral Society in “Notes from America”, an evening of American music and an all-Debussy programme for the Aldeburgh Connection. She was named a winner in the New Discovery Auditions adjudicated by Music Directors from the Montreal Symphony Chorus, Ottawa Choral Society, Choeur St. Laurent and the Cantata Singers of Ottawa. The prize included a debut recital in Ottawa. She was also a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Ms. Bogdanowicz has appeared as a soloist with many groups and festivals, both nationally and internationally; among them, the renowned EMI recording artists The St. Lawrence String Quartet, the Orford Festival, the Aldeburgh Festival and the Aldeburgh Connection, the Brevard Music Center Festival, the Leith Summer Festival and the Northern Lights Music Festival in Mexico.
Born and raised in Toronto, her heritage is French and Polish, and she is fluent in both French and English. She has received grants recognizing her talent from the Chalmers Foundation of the Ontario Arts Council, the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, the Toronto Symphony and the Canadian Opera Company. Ms. Bogdanowicz holds an Honours Bachelor Degree in Music and a Diploma in Operatic Performance from the University of Toronto.
What singers! Merola '05 opened with a stunner. Two of the principals, Michèle Bogdanowicz (Susanna) and David Crawford (Figaro) don't need no stinkin' training program – they were born to the stage, both are fully developed major singers. The soprano from Toronto exhibits a voice twice as large as her slight frame could be expected to support, and she projects powerfully into every nook of the old hangar. She is a natural, very funny, totally believable.
Janos Gereben, Post Newspaper Group (Merola Opera Program, San Francisco Opera, 2005)
Michèle Bogdanowicz… lit up the stage with her beautifully expressive voice and ebullient stage personality. She is a talent to watch.
Denis Armstrong, Ottawa Sun, 2007 (Opera Lyra)