|
The young Canadian counter-tenor, Michael Taylor, 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 Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Physics and Neuroscience from McGill University (1999-2005), he took up further vocal studies in Montreal with a focus on Early Music. He subsequently came to Germany to pursue a specialisation in opera performance with Jeanne Piland, and he has worked with several of Europe’s most talented Early Music specialists, including Andreas Scholl, Sara Mingardo and Michael Hofstetter. Taylor is a prize-winner of the Gürel International Singing Competition in Istanbul (November 2011) and the International Voice Competition Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg in Germany (January 2012), as well as a grant-holder of the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation for Young Canadian Opera Singers. He also obtained Master of Science (MSc)in Real Estate Investment & Finance from Heriot-Watt University (2010-2013).
Acclaimed by critics for his “great virtuosity”, “vocal radiance” and “outstanding voice”, Michael Taylor has performed leading roles in operas across Europe ranging from the Baroque to the modern era. He sang at Staatstheater Mainz (2013-2014), Hamburgische Staatsoper (2014), and Oper Halle (2015). Highlights of his wide-ranging operatic repertoire include Oberon in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummernight’s Dream in Norfolk (2013), Goffredo in George Frideric Handel’s Rinaldo at the State Theatre Mainz (2014), Corindo in Cesti’s Orontea at the Hamburg State Opera (2014), Liscione in Alessandro Scarlattii’s La Dirindina with L’Arte del Mondo (2014-2015), Adriano in Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria with Opera Settecento, Artemis in Henze’s Phaedra at the Halle Opera (2015), Ariel in Purcell’s The Tempest with Montréal Baroque (Director: Eric J. Milnes) and Argone in G.F. Handel’s Sosarme at the Handel Festival Halle (2016).
Also highly sought-after in concert and oratorio, Michael Taylor performs regularly with exceptional ensembles worldwide, including G.F. Handel's Messiah with the Grammy-nominated Trinity Choir at the Lincoln Center New York (2012), J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) with the Telemann Baroque Orchestra at Izumi Hall in Osaka (2015) and a series of J.S. Bach's cantatas with Montréal Baroque set to be released shortly on the Atma Classique label. He is a core member of Berlin’s Solistenensemble Phoenix16, specialising in the performance of contemporary vocal works; recently he appeared with them in a performance of Gerard Grisey’s Les Chants de l’Amour at the Konzerthaus Berlin.
In the upcoming season Michael Taylor will be involved in the creation of a new opera for children at the Hamburg State Opera by Massimiliano Matesic and Vera Nemirova, Alceste in Opera Settecento’s production of Johann Adolf Hasse’s Demetrio at Cadogan Hall in London, Argone in G.F. Handel's Sosarme in Halle (Saale) as well as a program of works by Stockhausen, Ligeti, Ferneyhough and Heinz Holliger with the Solistenensemble Phoenix16 in Berlin. As founder and co-director of the Baroque ensemble The Dansant, he recently released “To Die, To Sleep”, a solo album of opera arias by G.F. Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Graun accompanied on period instruments; the album is now available worldwide. He currently lives in Berlin, Germany. |
