Baritone Jonathan Gabriel Michie’s favorite stage roles include Danilo in The Merry Widow, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Fredrik in A Little Night Music, Moralès in Carmen, John Wilkes Booth in Assassins, and The Storyteller in the world premiere of Charles Strouse’s East & West, to name a few.
Michie spent this past summer as a resident artist with the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute for Young Artists. He spent two summers as a Young Artist with the Chautauqua Opera Company and the summer of 2005 as a member of the Ohio Light Opera company. He has been featured in concert at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Spoleto USA Festival, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the home of Broadway’s Charles Strouse, and with the Rochester and Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestras.
He has received recognition or awards on numerous occasions including the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition, the Four-City District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, the Licia Albanese/Puccini Foundation, the Charles A. Lynam Competition, the Palm Beach Opera Competition, the National Orpheus Vocal Competition, the Lotte Lehmann Foundation’s American Song Award, the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, the Liederkranz Foundation’s Reusche Lieder Award, the Fritz & Lavinia Jensen Foundation’s Summer Program Award, and the Friends of Eastman Opera competition.
Michie recently completed his master of music degree at the Eastman School of Music and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. For more information please visit www.jonathanmichie.com.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
My top three wish list roles are Don Giovanni, Billy Budd, and later in my career Sweeney Todd. I’ve also really enjoyed the few experiences I’ve had working on new pieces, creating a role without any preconceived notions and collaborating with contemporary composers. Perhaps my dream role has yet to be written.
What is your favorite part about being an opera singer?
I enjoy meeting and working with new people and traveling to new locations. I’m sure a jet-set lifestyle can become taxing, but it’s incredibly appealing to me at this point in time.
What made you decide to pursue singing as a career?
Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into. The only clear choice was a profession which put me onstage communicating with an audience. Majoring in voice at a conservatory is a demanding task, one which not everyone is cut out for, but luckily it seemed to fit my strengths.
Where do you find support for singing, personally and professionally? Who are some of your role models, mentors, or influential people in your life? Do you have a “support team”?
I’ve got a small team of professionals in the business that I can rely on for honest, informed advice. As we all know, this career invites constant scrutiny and evaluation. It’s absolutely necessary to sift through the “noise,” discarding feedback that isn’t helpful and trusting the advice of those who have your best interest in mind.
What do you consider your next career step?
My next step is to function as a well-oiled audition machine. This is my first audition season living in New York without the commitment of being a full-time student. I’ve got one foot in the opera audition pool and another in the music theatre pool, so it’ll be interesting to see where things lead. I feel quite lucky to be at this point, with a performing career as a realistic possibility.
How do you manage the business side of your career?
Building a career as a young performer is necessarily entrepreneurial, so getting a grip on one’s organizational and networking skills is a must. Luckily I’m a bit obsessive about keeping in touch with my business contacts and pursuing professional opportunities, and I’ve got the spreadsheets to prove it.
It can be tricky at times, but selling oneself is a necessary evil.
Tenor Jin Hwan Byun received a performer’s diploma in professional opera studies from Indiana University where he was a recipient of an Indiana University Music Merit Award and worked as a graduate assistant. His bachelor of music degree is in voice performance from the Seoul National University College of Music, South Korea. He is currently on the roster of Anthony George Artist Management and is a professor of music at Kean University.
Byun has performed major roles in many operas. Most recently, he performed Remendado in Carmen with Toledo Opera. He also performed with Florida Grand Opera, in its Showcase as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore and Lippo in Street Scene in May 2006, and as Nadir in Pearlfishers, and Don Carlo in Don Carlo in May 2005. As a Young Artist with Florida Grand Opera he made his mainstage debut as Trim in La fanciulla del West, and sang Borsa in Rigoletto and Remendado in Carmen. He also covered the Duke in Rigoletto and Tonio in La fille du régiment. In the In-School Opera Program of Florida Grand Opera, he also performed Rodolfo in La bohème.
Future performances include First Jew in Salome with Toledo Opera (spring 2009) and Alfredo in La traviata with Opera Fort Collins (fall 2009).
Byun’s performances with other companies include such roles as Borsa in Rigoletto with Indianapolis Opera and Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Nashville Opera. While he was still enrolled as a graduate student at Indiana University, he sang the roles of Fenton in Falstaff with Timothy Noble, Rodolfo in La bohème, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Alfredo in La traviata. Byun also finished the St. Louis Young Artist program, where he covered the role of Nicias in Massenet’s Thaïs.
Byun has won several major competitions including the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition in 2008, the top prize in 2005 and an award in 2004 at the National Society of Arts and Letters music competition, and first place in the 2005 Bel Canto Foundation Competition, where he also received the Primavera Award in 2004. He has received recognition in many competitions, including as a finalist for the Metropolitan National Council’s Chicago District, a finalist in the Austin Lyric Opera Competition, and a semifinalist in the Washington International Competition.
What were some influential experiences in your youth that led you to a career in music?
Well, I would like to mention Jesus and God. When I was young, I thought about the question, “Why did God make humans?” I found the answer: because he wants me to praise him.
How do you balance career and family?
I have a beautiful wife, MJ, and daughter, Lydia. We had a baby boy just before Thanksgiving. I have a studio in my basement. Since Lydia is only 2 years old and she is always looking for me, I usually hide in the studio when I need to practice. After practice, I am finally able to go back to MJ and Lydia. That is how I balance my career and family.
If you could sing any one role, what would it be?
That’s a hard question, but Sarastro in The Magic Flute, even though I am a tenor.
What made you decide to pursue singing as a career?
Jesus and my mom.
