American Mezzo Soprano Michelle Monroe has been praised for her rich tone and musical phrasing. Recent performances include Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Music on Site in December 2022, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Cedar Rapids Opera in June 2022, and numerous concert and recital performances. During the 2021 season, which was postponed from 2020 due to COVID, Michelle returned for her second season as an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera and made her role debut as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Her other engagements with Central City Opera in 2021 included covering the spunky role of Carrie in Carousel at the Hudson Gardens and performing Second Woman in the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Young Artist production of Dido and Aeneas at the Central City Opera House Gardens.

Michelle made her first appearance with Central City Opera as an Apprentice Artist in the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program during the 2019 summer season when she performed Une Récitante in Debussy’s La damoiselle élue. She also had the pleasure of preparing a recital with pianist and coach Peter Walsh. In January 2020, Michelle joined Cedar Rapids Opera in their production of Madama Butterfly. While with Cedar Rapids Opera, she also performed “Sein wir wieder gut” from Ariadne auf Naxos on Iowa Public Radio and in a Cedar Rapids Opera aria concert.

Michelle appears frequently in recital and as a soloist with regional orchestras. Her recent concert work includes Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra; Christmas on the Prairie with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; Requiem in D Minor (Mozart), Messiah (Handel), Ein Deutsches Requiem (Brahms), and Lord Nelson Mass (Haydn) with the Grinnell Oratorio Society; and Theresienmesse (Haydn) with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony. She was also featured on a recent recording of James Stephenson’s Dialogue of Self and Soul with the Northern Iowa Wind Ensemble with Cayla Bellamy, bassoon.

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Music Education degree from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. After graduating, she taught chorus and general music for two years in the public schools. Despite her love of teaching, the stage was calling. She attended the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) for the Master of Music in Vocal Performance, during which she earned first place at the UNI Graduate Symposium two consecutive years for her research and performance of selections from Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson and Jake Heggie’s Eve-Song. For her performance of Jake Heggie’s Eve-Song, one judge commented, “She truly committed to the emotional arc of the piece, her intonation was clear and beautiful. She... was truly engaging. She was easily the best performer of the evening.” 

Having an affinity for American vocal music, Michelle has enjoyed performing Jeremy Beck’s monodrama Black Water along with a number of his art songs. The composer commented on her performance of Black Water, saying her voice was “just glorious...its range, nuance, and beauty - [her] command of dramatic shape and musical details… all just marvelous.” Jeremy Beck wrote four songs for Michelle and she premiered those on March 8, 2022 with Dr. Robin Guy, piano. You can find a workshop performance of those on the media page of this website and keep your eyes out for Jeremy Beck’s next CD release.

Other Young Artist Programs include Cedar Rapids Opera, the Johanna Meier Opera Theater Institute, Music for Singers in Germany, Blooming Voce Summer Opera Workshop, and the Midwest Institute of Opera. While in Germany, she had the opportunity to perform with the Mittelsächsisches Theater in Freiberg, Germany and to study Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder.

Michelle lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa where she is an instructor of voice at the University of Northern Iowa and working toward her DMA in Voice Performance at the University of Iowa. When she’s not singing, Michelle loves to spend time outside gardening or hiking with her husband and two dogs.