Five extraordinary female vocalists take the spotlight at VPAC this season cutting across all genres. Tonight, November 12, American Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung continues the series as she returns to her alma mater for an unforgettable night of song. Ms. DeYoung, who has already established herself as one of the most exciting artists of her generation amassing accolades for her portrayals of opera's most demanding roles, will launch VPAC's Annual Alumni Artist Series.
"Everyone at CSUN is always delighted to welcome back our alums who have risen to the top of their professions," said VPAC Executive Director, Thor Steingraber. "Michelle has conquered the stages at La Scala, the Met, Salzburg and LA Opera, and we welcome this great diva and look forward to her conquering the VPAC stage."
Michelle DeYoung appears frequently with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, The Met Orchestra (in Carnegie Hall), the Met Chamber Ensemble, Vienna Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper Orchestra, Berliner Staatskapelle, Sao Paulo Symphony, and the Concertgebouworkest. She has also appeared in the prestigious festivals of Ravinia, Tanglewood, Aspen, Cincinnati, Saito Kinen, Edinburgh, Salzburg, St Denis, and Lucerne.
The conductors with whom she has worked include
Daniel Barenboim,
Pierre Boulez,
James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Stéphane Denève, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Daniele Gatti,
Alan Gilbert, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck,
James Levine,
Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta,
Kent Nagano, Seiji Ozawa, Antonio Pappano, Andre Previn,
David Robertson, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mariss Jansons,
Michael Tilson Thomas, Franz Welser-Möst, and Jaap van Zweden.
Ms. DeYoung has also appeared with many of the finest opera houses of the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago,
Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Glimmerglass Opera, Los Angeles, La Scala, Bayreuth Festival, Berliner Staatsoper, Hamburg State Opera, Opera National de Paris, Thèâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Nice, Theater Basel, and the Tokyo Opera. She was also named the 2015 Artist in Residence at
Wolf Trap Opera. Her many roles include the title roles in Samson et Dalila and The Rape of Lucretia, Fricka, Sieglinde and Waltraute in The Ring Cycle; Kundry in Parsifal, Venus in Tannhäuser, Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, Herodias in Salome, Eboli in Don Carlos, Amneris in Aida, Santuzza in Cavelleria Rusticana, Marguerite in Le Damnation de Faust, Judith in Bluebeard's Castle, Didon in Les Troyens, Gertrude in Hamlet, and Jocaste in Oedipus Rex. She also created the role of the Shaman in
Tan Dun's The First Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera.
In recital, Ms. DeYoung has been presented by the University of Chicago Presents series, the
Ravinia Festival, Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, San Francisco Symphony's Great Performances series, Cal Performances in Berkeley, SUNY Purchase, Calvin College, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Roy Thomson Hall, the Thèâtre du Châtelet, the Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon) the Edinburgh Festival, London's Wigmore Hall and Brussels's La Monnaie.
Ms. DeYoung's recording of Kindertotenlieder and Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with
Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS Media) was awarded the 2003 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 with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live). Her growing discography also includes recordings of Mahler Symphony No. 3 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Bernard Haitink (CSO Resound) and with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck (PID); Bernstein's Symphony No. 1, 'Jeremiah' with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and
Leonard Slatkin (Chandos), Das Klagende Lied with the San Francisco Symphony and
Michael Tilson Thomas (BMG), and Das Lied von der Erde with the Minnesota Orchestra (Reference Recordings). Her first solo disc was released on the EMI label.
Tickets
Tickets for Michelle DeYoung range from $30 to $70 and can be purchased by visiting
ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org or calling
(818) 677-3000. Valley Performing Arts Center is located on the campus of California State University, Northridge (CSUN), 18111 Nordhoff Street Northridge, CA 91330-8448, at the corner of Nordhoff and Lindley.
