Michelle Bawden is a Canadian soprano praised for her crystalline tone, fearless high range, and expressive musicality. A recent graduate of McGill University (Master of Music in Voice and Opera) under the mentorship of Aline Kutan, she previously earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Ottawa, studying with Christiane Riel.

 

Michelle has earned recognition on national stages as a finalist in McGill’s Wirth Vocal Prize, a finalist at the Prix d’Europe, and both a finalist and voice category winner in the Canadian Music Competition. Her recent operatic appearances include Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) as a guest artist at Université de Montréal, Die Mutter (Hänsel und Gretel) with Opera McGill, and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw) with the University of Ottawa. Michelle has also been featured as a soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Cantabile Chorale. She was also featured in concert during Festival Classica’s 2024 season with the Arion Baroque Orchestra performing a selection of Mozart arias, prompting Le Devoir to praise her as a soprano who “sings the Queen of the Night as easily as you and I brush our teeth.”

 

In 2025 Michelle joined the prestigious Franz Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien with support from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation, before appearing as a semi-finalist in the Helmut Deutsch International Lieder Competition in Vienna. Later that season she returned as soprano soloist with Cantabile Chorale in Beethoven’s Mass in C major. She concluded the year premiering Merging Species, a collaboratively developed experimental opera by Gabriela Hébert integrating voice, electronics, fashion, and dance.

 

Michelle brings a combination of technical brilliance, clarity, and expressive honesty to repertoire spanning opera, concert, and contemporary collaboration.

 

Following her previous appearance with Cantabile Chorale, Michelle returns as soprano soloist for their April 2026 Spring concert, performing selections from J.S. Bach's Matthäus-Passion.  

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Outside of her performance work, Michelle enjoys reading, baking, and spending

time outdoors.