Michelle Trovato
Lyric Coloratura soprano
New York, N. Y.
Please tell our readers about your career highlights so far.
I’m just finishing up a five-and-a-half month residency with Opera Colorado, where I’ve sung Norina in Don Pasquale for the student matinee on the main stage, and toured the state as Clorinda in Rossini’s Cinderella and Alba in La Curandera, by Robert Rodriguez. We’ve sung more than 75 performances for about 30,000 schoolchildren and adults. I also sang Alba again and Kumudha in scenes from John Adams’ A Flowering Tree as part of the National Performing Arts Convention. I sang Micaela in Carmen with Bronx Opera, and Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Little Opera Company of New Jersey.
In August 2007, I won two out of three prizes at the Les Azuriales Opera Young Singers Competition in France: first prize for Most Promising Singer and the junior prize for Most Promising Young Singer. I also recently won third place for the St. Andrew’s Arts Council International Aria Competition in Canada.
What are your goals for the next five years? The next 10 years?
Next season, I will be a Young Artist with Seattle Opera, and after that I’d like to bridge the gap between Young Artist and principal artist. That’s the trick, it seems. I also present several recital programs that I’d like to take international, as I’m addicted to classical song and chamber repertoire.
What do you listen to when you turn on the radio?
Uh oh . . . truthfully? Alternative rock.
What is your dream role, and why?
I have so many! The top two are probably Baby Doe and Mimi. Baby Doe is so strong, and the first part of her life is so anti-operatic, in a way, because she takes complete charge of her own life, defies convention, and “gets her man.” Then, of course, she is loyal to the end. Mimi, well, she is so human, so real, and she has been graced with some of the most beautiful music and words ever written in opera.
How do you handle the inevitable rejection that is part of a singer’s life?
Carol Kirkpatrick tells me something all the time: “Offer no resistance to what is. Take action and make a decision, but don’t become attached to the outcome.” That’s the key: not becoming emotionally attached to what may or may not happen in your life. Rejection isn’t personal; they could have liked you a whole lot. It’s only when you get the job that you sometimes find out how you only got it in the first place by the tiniest of details.
What is your favorite article you’ve read in Classical Singer, and why?
I love Cindy Sadler’s new [series] on the DIY Summer Program [May, June, July ’08]. I met her at the first Classical Singer Convention in Hartford [Conn.] and Cindy’s career advice really changed my life. The most important thing I learned from her was to do something for the business side of your singing every day. Although now I have to do quite a bit more than one thing a day to keep up, her advice has always stayed with me. Although I am engaged for much of the summer, I’m going to follow the parts of the [DIY summer program that I can.
Who is your favorite singer and why?
Beverly Sills. My first voice teacher, Basel Landia Wowk, gave me her autobiography, Bubbles, when I was about 16 years old, and I was so inspired by her. I felt like she was like me in some ways—both New York girls who didn’t have a lot of money and did what they had to in order to sing. It made me believe that if she could do it, then so could I. Not to mention the fact that she had one of the most beautiful voices of all time.
What is your favorite techno tool you use as a singer?
I only recently bought an iPod. I’m a little behind the times, I’m afraid. My CD collection is huge and I don’t even want to contemplate downloading it all.
Do you have a motto by which you live?
I have a personal mission statement: “I am committed to inspiring myself and others through music, joy, and laughter.” The “myself” part is just as important as “others,” because if I’m not inspiring myself there is no way I’m going to inspire others. Creating that mission statement has made me a better person, because it’s a lot to live up to.
