Michelle Bradley in Conversation: Digital Program
Michelle Bradley, Soprano
Michelle Bradley, a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is beginning to garner great acclaim as one of today’s most promising Verdi sopranos. This season, she debuts with San Francisco Opera as Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites and performs the title role of Aida at Fort Worth Opera. She will return to San Diego Opera in the title role of Tosca and will debut in Japan as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center. In concert, Bradley will sing the soprano soloists in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Eva Ollikainen at the Hollywood Bowl and in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony and James Conlon. Future projects include a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in a leading role.
Last season, Bradley made her debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the title role of Tosca and with the Savonlinna Opera Festival in the title role of Aida and returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Liù in Turandot. In concert, she debuted with the San Francisco Symphony and Daniel Stewart as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; with the Atlanta Symphony and Nicola Luisotti in the title role of Act III of Aida; and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Tanglewood. She was also heard in a pair of solo recitals for San Diego Opera with Brian Zeger at the piano.
Bradley is the 2017 recipient of the Leonie Rysanek Award from the George London Foundation, the 2016 recipient of the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, and a first-place winner in the Gerda Lissner and the Serge and Olga Koussevitzky vocal competitions. She received a Master of Music in vocal performance from Bowling Green State University.
Piper Gunnarson, On Site Executive Director
Piper Gunnarson (she/her) has served as On Site Opera’s executive director since 2017, steering the company’s operational growth with a specific focus on board relations, financial planning, fundraising, strategic planning, EDI initiatives, audience experience, and numerous administrative operations. Prior to joining On Site, Gunnarson worked primarily in theater administration, including as managing director for Random Farms Kids Theater, general manager for the NYU Gallatin Arts Festival, and development director for Abingdon Theatre Company, as well as in education/administration for the Geffen Playhouse, Will Geer Theatricum, and the Lark Play Development Center. Gunnarson holds a B.A. in theater from the University of California, San Diego, and an M.A. in leadership for the arts from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. She will complete a certificate in diversity, equity, and inclusion from Rutgers University in s2022.
Acknowledgments
The 2022–2023 season of OPERA America Onstage is supported in part by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Programming at the National Opera Center is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.