| Canadian Michèle Bogdanowicz is poised to take a commanding place among the young sopranos of her generation. This season she joins Opera Lyra as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Toronto Operetta Theatre as Yum Yum in the Mikado and Opera Hamilton as Gretel in Hänsel and Gretel. In 2006/2007, she made several debuts as Zerlina in Don Giovanni: Opera Hamilton, Pacific Opera Victoria and Orchestra London. |
| As an artist with the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival in 2007, she sang the world premiere of a set of songs "Facing Forward / Looking Back" by acclaimed American composer Jake Heggie. In 2005, she was chosen for the prestigious Merola Program of the San Francisco Opera where she had a resounding success as Susanna in Le Nozze Di Figaro. She is a former member of the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio (2004-2006) and has been acclaimed by audiences and critics for her mainstage performances as Mercédès in Carmen and New Ofglen in Ruders' The Handmaid's Tale (based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood), as well as Papagena in The Magic Flute, a COC Ensemble production directed by Sir Andrew Porter. She was also seen as Nancy in the Canadian Opera Company's production of Albert Herring. |
| An avid concert singer and recitalist, Ms. Bogdanowicz will sing Les Nuits d'Été by Berlioz and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream with the Hamilton Philharmonic in the 2008/2009 season. In 2007/2008 she presented a recital at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, broadcast by CBC Radio Two. She also appeared as soloist with the Ottawa Choral Society in "Notes from America", an evening of American music. In 2006 she presented an all-Debussy programme for the Aldeburgh Connection and 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 Ravinia Festival, 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 Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, 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. |
 Ms. Bogdanowicz graciously acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts' Council |
