
Michel de Souza
baritone
"The versatility of de Souza as singer and actor is remarkable. His electrifying entry aria, ‘Largo al factotum della città’ , showed how capable he is of playing a wide range of roles. Many will remember him as the domineering, interfering Giorgio Germont for Nevill Holt’s 2019 La traviata. As Figaro he shows his many-sided versatility in abundance, as well as his significant virtuoso skills.
Seen and Heard International - Clive Peacock - 24th June 2022
FOLLOW
TERRITORY
Brazil - exclusive
BIO
Michel de Souza is a Master with distinction from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and was part of the Jette Parker program at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden (ROH) in London.
He made his debut at the ROH in the 2012/2013 season as Shaunard in La Boheme in John Copley's production conducted by Sir Mark Elder. He has performed alongside artists such as Jonas Kaufmann, Roberto Alagna, Bryn Terfel, Diana Damrau, Simon Keenlyside, and with conductors like Simon Rattle, Antonio Pappano, Maurizio Benini, Donald Runnicles, Leonard Slatkin, Placido Domingo, among others.
In opera, Michel has appeared in Le Nozze di Figaro (Count Almaviva), The Magic Flute (Papageno), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), La Boheme (Marcello, Shaunard), War and Peace (Prince Andrei), Carmen (Escamillo), The Cunning Little Vixen (Forester), Hansel und Gretel (Peter), L'elisir d'amore (Belcore), Il signor Bruschino (Gaudenzio), Tosca (Angelotti), Tales of Hoffmann (Dr. Miracle), Ariadne auf Naxos (Harlequin and Music Teacher), Samson and Delilah (High Priest of Dagon).
He has also performed in works such as Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, Mass in B Minor, Cantatas BWV 56, 82, 140, and 147 by Bach, Requiems by Mozart, Fauré, Duruflé, Brahms, and Verdi, Vespers by Monteverdi, Messiah and Dixit Dominus by Handel, Carmina Burana by Orff, Belshazzar's Feast by Walton, Five Mystical Songs, and Serenade to Music by Vaughan Williams in concerts with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London in THE BBC PROMS series.
He recently performed a series of concerts with the Orchestre National de Lyon, highlighting the Berlioz Festival in La-Côte-Saint-André where he interpreted Scene Heroique and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as well as the opening of the 2015-2016 season at the Lyon auditorium.
He participated in the Emerging Artist program at the Scottish Opera in the 2010/2011 season and was part of the soloists' ensemble at the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 2014/2015.
In Brazil, he won the 1st prize in chamber music at the Maria Callas competition in São Paulo in 2007 and studied singing with Benito Maresca and Isabel Maresca. He graduated in organ with the highest honors from the UFRJ School of Music, where he also studied singing with Inacio de Nonno.
He began his musical studies and career at the Instituto dos Meninos Cantores de Petrópolis, his hometown. Currently, Michel resides in Luxembourg.
REVIEWS
OPERA REPERTOIRE
B. Britten — Gloriana — CITY CRIER — Royal Opera Covent Garden
B. Britten — A Midsummer Night’s Dream — STARVELING — Grand Théâtre de Genève
C. Donizetti — L’Elisir d’Amore — BELCORE — Theatro São Pedro
C. Gomes — Il Guarany — GONZALES — Grande Teatro do Palácio das Artes de Belo Horizonte
C. Saint-Saëns — Samson et Dalila — GRAND PRÊTRE DE DAGON — Grange Park Opera
C. Saint-Saëns — Samson et Dalila — GRAND PRÊTRE DE DAGON — Chelsea Opera Group
C. Saint-Saëns — Samson et Dalila — GRAND PRÊTRE DE DAGON — Al Bustan Festival (Lebanon)
C. W. Gluck — Iphigénie en Tauride — UN SCYTHE — Grand Théâtre de Genève
D. Cimarosa — Il Matrimonio Segreto — IL CONTE ROBINSON — Theatro São Pedro
F. Loewe — My Fair Lady — PROFESSOR HIGGINS — Theatro Guaíra (Curitiba)
F. Poulenc — Dialogues des Carmélites — 2ND COMMISSARY — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Barry — The Intelligence Park — ROBERT PARADIES — Music Theatre Wales
G. Bizet — Carmen — ESCAMILLO — Scottish Opera
G. Bizet — Carmen — MORALES — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Gershwin — Porgy and Bess — CROWN — Grande Teatro do Palácio das Artes de Belo Horizonte
G. Puccini — La Bohème — SCHAUNARD — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Puccini — La Bohème — SCHAUNARD — Grand Théâtre de Genève
G. Puccini — La Bohème — MARCELLO — English Touring Opera
G. Puccini — La Fanciulla del West — SONORA — Grange Park Opera
G. Puccini — Tosca — ANGELOTTI — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Puccini — Turandot — MANDARIN — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Puccini — Turandot — PING — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Rossini — Il Barbiere di Siviglia — FIGARO — Teatro Municipal de São Paulo
G. Rossini — Il Barbiere di Siviglia — FIGARO — Nevill Holt Opera
G. Rossini — Guillaume Tell — LEUTHOLD — Grand Théâtre de Genève
G. Rossini — Il Signor Bruschino — GAUDENZIO — British Youth Opera
G. Verdi — Don Carlo — FLEMISH DEPUTY — Royal Opera Covent Garden
G. Verdi — Rigoletto — MARULLO — Scottish Opera
G. Verdi — Rigoletto — MARULLO — Grand Théâtre de Genève
G. Verdi — La Traviata — GIORGIO GERMONT — Nevill Holt Opera
G. Verdi — La Traviata — BARON DOUPHOL — Royal Opera Covent Garden
I. Stravinsky — The Rake’s Progress — NICK SHADOW — Teatro Municipal de São Paulo
J. Massenet — Thaïs — ATHANAËL — Chelsea Opera Group
J. Offenbach — La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein — BARON GROG — Grand Théâtre de Genève
L. Janáček — The Cunning Little Vixen — FORESTER — Scottish Opera
L. Janáček — The Makropulos Case — BARON JAROSLAV PRUS — Teatro Municipal de São Paulo
M. de Falla — El Retablo de Maese Pedro — DON QUIJOTE — BBC National Orchestra of Wales
P. Tchaikovsky — Eugene Onegin — CAPTAIN — Royal Opera Covent Garden
P. Tchaikovsky — Eugene Onegin — CAPTAIN — Grand Théâtre de Genève
R. Strauss — Ariadne auf Naxos — HARLEQUIN — Rostov on Don Theatre
R. Strauss — Ariadne auf Naxos — MUSIC MASTER — Rostov on Don Theatre
R. Strauss — Capriccio — SERVANT — Royal Opera Covent Garden
R. Strauss — Die Frau ohne Schatten — NIGHTWATCHMAN — Royal Opera Covent Garden
R. Strauss — Intermezzo — DER NOTAR — Scottish Opera
R. Strauss — Salome — 1ST SOLDIER / 1ST NAZARENE — Orchestre National de Lyon
Ravi Shankar — Sukanya — ASWINI TWIN — ROH Covent Garden / London Philharmonic Orchestra
T. Higgins — The Gods of the Game — VIKO — Grange Park Opera
T. Stok — En Vertu de — THE POLITICIAN — Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg
W. A. Mozart — Così fan tutte — GUGLIELMO — Teatro Argentino de La Plata
W. A. Mozart — Così fan tutte — GUGLIELMO — Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
W. A. Mozart — Die Zauberflöte — PAPAGENO — Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
X. Montsalvatge — El Gato con Botas — KING — Royal Opera Covent Garden (Linbury Studio)
CONCERT REPERTOIRE
L. van Beethoven — Missa Solemnis — Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro; Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
H. Berlioz — Scène Héroïque — Orchestre National de Lyon, Festival Berlioz
L. Bernstein — Mass — Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
G. F. Händel — Messiah — Usher Hall Edinburgh; Theatro Municipal de São Paulo
C. Orff — Carmina Burana — National Theatre of Brasília
W. Walton — Belshazzar’s Feast — Glasgow Concert Hall
R. Vaughan Williams — Serenade to Music — Proms BBC Scottish National Orchestra
G. Verdi — Messa da Requiem — Glasgow Concert Hall; Usher Hall Edinburgh; Sage Gateshead
