Mezzo Soprano Michelle DeYoung has already established herself as one of the most exciting artists of her generation

In the past few seasons, Ms. DeYoung has been seen on the concert platforms of many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, L.A. Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra, Concertgebouworkest, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. The conductors with whom she has worked include Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Stéphane Denève, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, Mariss Jansons, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artists Development Program, Ms. DeYoung has since appeared as Dido in the Met’s new production of Les Troyens, Venus in Tannhauser at the Houston Grand Opera, Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Seattle Opera, the title role in Rape of Lucretia at the Glimmerglass Opera, Jocaste in Oedipus Rex and Gertrude in Hamlet at the Thèâtre du Châtelet, and Fricka in semi-staged performances of both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre at the Royal Albert Hall, London, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Concertgebouw and the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

In recital, Ms. DeYoung has been presented by the San Francisco Symphony’s “Great Performances Series”, Cal Performances in Berkeley, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Thèâtre du Châtelet, the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Edinburgh Festival, London’s Wigmore Hall and Brussels’s La Monnaie.

Ms. DeYoung’s most recent recording, Kindertotenlieder and Mahler Symphony No. 3 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony’s own label, SFS Media was awarded the 2004 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album. She has also been awarded the 2001 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album and Best Opera Recording for Les Troyens (the role of Dido) with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra. Her growing discography also includes Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1, “Jeremiah” with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin for Chandos, Das Klagende Lied with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas for BMG, Mahler Symphony No 3 with the Cincinnati Symphony and Jesus Lopez Cobos for Telarc, and Das Lied von der Erde with the Minnesota Orchestra for Reference Recordings. Her first solo disc was released on the EMI label in spring 1999. 

This past summer Ms. DeYoung made her debut as Kundry in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival. This season she returns to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Venus in Tannhäuser and the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the Ring Cycle. Concert engagements include her debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic, and returns to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.