About
Michelle
Michelle Girardot is a lyric coloratura soprano based in Houston, Texas, who shines in the repertoire of bel canto, Mozart, 21st Century, and German composers.
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Michelle made her theatrical debut at the age of four, playing the Midshipman’s Mite in H.M.S. Pinafore. While she was disappointed not to be able to eat the stage prop lollipop, the early exposure to the stage instilled a love of performance and classical singing. In middle school, she went on to perform her first title role, Amahl, in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Menotti). She got hooked on opera, and the rest is history.
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Michelle is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Houston, studying with Cynthia Clayton (current) and Timothy Jones.
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In the Moores Opera Center's 2020-21 season at the University of Houston, Michelle will perform the roles of Zerlina in an outdoor, socially-distant staged production of Don Giovanni (Mozart) and Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring (Britten).
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In the 2019-20 season, Michelle made her debut performance of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), as well as Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld (Offenbach). She was also engaged to sing the role of Aveline Mortimer in the Moores Opera Center production of Elizabeth Cree (Kevin Puts), which was unfortunately canceled shortly before the performance due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Other past roles include Mrs. Candour in the world premiere of The School for Scandal (Robert Nelson), Bombalina in The Inspector (Musto), Gretel in Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), and Yvette in La Rondine (Puccini).
Apart from her operatic endeavors, Michelle also has a passion for art song. She participated in the Vocal Track of the Collaborative Piano Institute in 2019 and 2020, where she was able to work with masters in the industry such as Paul Groves, Martin Katz, Kathleen Kelly, Lisette Oropesa, Korliss Uecker, and Howard Watkins.
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In her study of art song, Michelle became interested in the German language and Lieder, inspiring her to study abroad in Germany. She has studied in Lüneburg as well as at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig, where she earned a B2 certificate of proficiency in German. While in Leipzig, Michelle had the honor to be invited to sing at the U.S. consulate. In Houston, she remains an active member of the Houston Saengerbund.
In 2016, Michelle was the soprano soloist in Mozart's Mass in C Major (K. 317) with the University of Houston's choirs and orchestra. In the same year, Michelle was a finalist in the Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Voice Competition and won the Houston Saengerbund German Vocal Competition's Herrenchor Award. Most recently in 2020, Michelle was a finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition.
repertoire interests
German Lieder, Opera, and Oratorio
Female Composers
BIPOC Composers
21st Century Composers
Chamber Music
Languages
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B2 rank of proficiency in German
Exchange student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Leipzig, Germany
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Proficiency in diction for English, German, Italian, French, and Spanish
Awards
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Finalist in the 2020 Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition
Herrenchor Award in the 2016 Houston Saengerbund German Vocal Competition
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Finalist in the 2016 Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Voice Competition
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Teaching
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Voice Lessons
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Piano Lessons
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English as a Second Language
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Teaching Assistant for Undergraduate Music History
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(For more information on becoming a student, please contact me)