Michelle Monroe

American mezzo-soprano Michelle Monroe joined the voice faculty at the University of Northern Iowa in the fall of 2016. She earned her Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Northern Iowa and her Bachelor of Music Education from Northern State University. Before joining the faculty at UNI, Monroe taught Kindermusik and K-12 General and Vocal Music in the Iowa public schools.

Monroe is a dedicated teacher and versatile performer. Most recently, she appeared as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Cedar Rapids Opera in June 2022. Ms. Monroe was an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera’s Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Young Artist Program for 2019, 2020 (canceled due to COVD-19), and 2021. At CCO, she made her role debut as Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, covered the spunky role of Carrie in Carousel, and performed Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas and Une Récitante in Debussy’s La damoiselle élue. 

Setting herself apart in competition, Michelle earned first place for two consecutive years at the UNI Graduate Symposium for her research and performance of selections from Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson and Jake Heggie’s Eve-Song. On 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 been called on by composers to premiere their new work. Most recently in 2022, she gave the world premiere of Four Songs by award winning composer Jeremy Beck. Michelle has performed a number of his works including the monodrama Black Water, of which the composer commented saying her voice was “just glorious...its range, nuance, and beauty - [her] command of dramatic shape and musical details… all just marvelous.”

Ms. Monroe is a frequent recitalist and often appears as a soloist with regional orchestras, universities, and companies.  Upcoming concert appearances include performing as a soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra, the Magnificat by Imant Raminsh with Northwestern College and the Sioux County Oratorio Society, Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor with the Rochester Symphony, and in The Noise with the UNI Wind Ensemble.

Past concert credits include Alto soloist in Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn with Northwestern College and the Sioux County Oratorio Society; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Northern Iowa Symphony Orchestra; “Christmas on the Prairie” with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; Haydn’s Theresienmesse with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony; and Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Grinnell Oratorio Society.

Her roles include Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Music on Site, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Cedar Rapids Opera, covering Carrie in Carousel with Central City Opera, performing Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Central City Opera,  Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites with the Midwest Institute of Opera, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Nebraska Opera Project, and Mrs. Gleaton in Susannah, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Die Knusperhexe in Hänsel und Gretel, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and the monodrama Black Water by Jeremy Beck as university productions.

Other Young Artist Programs include 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 as a soloist with the Mittelsächsisches Theater Orchestra in Freiberg, Germany and to study Hugo Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder.

Michelle lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she is Associate Adjunct Professor of Voice at the University of Northern Iowa. When she’s not singing, she loves to spend time outside with her husband and two dogs.