home > countertenor profiles > michael c taylorAcclaimed by critics for his “great virtuosity”, “vocal radiance” and “outstanding voice”, Canadian countertenor Michael Taylor has performed leading roles in numerous operas, including the title role in Handel's “Orlando” and Oberon in Britten's “A Midsummernight's Dream”. In 2012 Michael sang his Lincoln Center debut in New York as a soloist in Handel's “Messiah” with the Grammy-Nominated Trinity Choir.
Michael began singing as a treble at St. Michael’s Choir School in Toronto, where he also studied the violin and piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music. After graduating with a degree in Physics and Neuroscience from McGill University, he took up further vocal studies with a focus on Early Music. In Montreal Michael launched his professional career as a countertenor, singing with the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal and as a soloist under the direction of numerous internationally acclaimed artists. Michael subsequently came to Germany to pursue a specialization in opera performance with Jeanne Piland at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein; he has worked with some of the most eminent talents on the early music scene in Europe, including Andreas Scholl, Sara Mingardo and Michael Hofstetter. Michael is a prize-winner of the Sedat Gürel & Güzin Gürel International Singing Competition in Istanbul and the International Voice Competition Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Germany, and was awarded a grant from the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers. Highlights for the upcoming season include Goffredo in Handel's “Rinaldo” at the Staatstheater Mainz and Liscione in Scarlatti's “La Dirindina” with L'Arte del Mondo. A solo album of operatic arias is set to be released shortly with the Montreal-based baroque ensemble “The Dansant”, of which Michael is co-founder and artistic director. © Michael C Taylor
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