Federico De Michelis

One of South America's rapidly rising young singers in the early 2020s, bass-baritone Federico De Michelis has been especially active in the U.S., where he was partly trained. He released his debut album, Mi País: Songs of Argentina, in 2023. Federico De Michelis (the capitalization is the artist's own) was born in Buenos Aires in 1993. His family was not particularly oriented toward opera but was musical; his father had a large record collection extending from Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla to Mexican ranchera singer José Alfredo Jiménez. By 13, De Michelis had decided on a career in music. He studied in Argentina with choral directors Orlando Rosas and Rolando Budini, tenor Gabriel Renaud, and baritone Omar Carrión. During a stint at the Opera Studio of the Teatro Argentina de la Plata, he made professional debuts in several major roles, including Don Alfonso in Mozart's Così fan tutte. In 2012, he headed to Spain for studies at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, where his principal teacher was Tom Krause. There, De Michelis received an Outstanding Student nod from Queen Sofia herself. De Michelis went on to join the Opera Studio of the Houston Grand Opera in 2015; he spent two years there and then launched a career as a freelance singer. He has continued to make Houston his home. There, he has established a New Song Project concert series that includes vocal genres both within and outside classical music. De Michelis has also made numerous appearances at top operatic and concert venues. He has been especially active in the U.S., where he is a principal at the Houston Grand Opera and has also appeared at the Florida Grand Opera, the Palm Beach Opera, and the Aspen Music Festival, among other venues. He sang with the Philadelphia Orchestra in a concert version of Puccini's Tosca conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. In Europe, he sang the role of Colline in Puccini's La bohème at the Gran Teatre del Liceo in Barcelona and appeared as the Sacristan in a new production of Tosca at the Dutch National Opera. De Michelis has been in demand for concert appearances, having sung the bass part in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D major, Op. 125, with multiple groups and appearing in a performance of Handel's Messiah with the North Carolina Symphony. De Michelis' 2023 recording debut, Mi País: Songs of Argentina, appeared on the NYFOS label of the New York Festival of Song. He also plays jazz piano and is a competent soccer player.
© James Manheim /TiVo