With elegant, polished vocalism, and committed dramatic portrayals on stage, Mezzo-Soprano Elise DesChamps appeals to audiences and critics alike as a compelling and charming artist in opera, oratorio and concert. She has been praised by Opera News for her “ability to handle coloratura effusions while bouncing with exhilaration about the stage”, her latest Carmen was described as “rich, powerful, sensuous…the audience who observed her actions and heard her control her lovers with her dark, rich mezzo-soprano voice admired her vocal and dramatic skills”, and her debut with Opera Columbus was celebrated as “vocal brilliance and radiant beauty…the warmth of her voice and the fragrance of her beauty lend themselves to her sprite-like believability”.
Up next, Ms. DesChamps debuts with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra as Mercedes in Carmen, returns to Linworth United Methodist Church in Vivaldi’s Gloria conducted by Grammy Award-winning conductor William Boggs, and joins the Bay View Music Festival as an Artist-in-Residence. Recent engagements include portrayals of Carmen with Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Operanauts and Asheville Lyric Opera; a feature in Distant Worlds: Final Fantasy with Grammy Award-winning conductor Arnie Roth; a debut with Opera Project Columbus as La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica; a return to Opera Columbus as Stephano in Roméo & Juliette and to Southminster Concerts Ottawa as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni; concerts of French songs and arias, including Viardot’s mélodies with MDA Québec and Saurel Festival, Saint-Saëns’s Christmas Oratorio with Linworth United Methodist Church, and collaborated work with Ballet Met Columbus and Columbus Dancer Theater. Other engagements have included returns to Asheville Lyric opera as Maddalena in Rigoletto and Gertrude in Roméo & Juliette, and to Opera Columbus as Thisbe in La Cenerentola, Annina in Traviata, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and as Iolanthe in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. During her Young Artist residencies, Ms. DesChamps sang Zinnia in L’Étoile of Chabrier and a Handmaiden in Turandot with Cincinnati Opera, toured as La Cenerentola in La Cenerentola, and performed several recitals and scenes throughout Ohio with Opera Columbus.
In Concert, Ms. DesChamps sang Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Columbus State College and Ohio Christian College, Pergolesi’s Stabat mater with Capital Chamber Orchestra, as well as recitals in repeat engagements for Opera Columbus, Cincinnati Opera, Southminster Concerts Ottawa, Piedmont Opera, Capital University, St-Joseph’s Cathedral Scola Ensemble, MDA Québec, Saurel Music Festival, Bon Pasteur Historical Chapel, SRC Radio Young Artists’ series, and La Maison Alcan.
Ms. DesChamps studied vocal Performance at The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where she received a Master of Music in Voice with legendary Soprano Virginia Zeani. She is a grateful recipient of numerous grants, scholarships and awards, including those of the Canadian Music Competition, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Robert Bourassa Foundation, the Charles-Émiles Gadbois Competition, the Académie Internationale d’Été De Nice and was invited by the Vermont Opera Theater to the Foliage Art Song Master Class with Dalton Baldwin. She is originally from Montréal, Canada. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Montréal Conservatory with degrees in Cello and Musicology. She is currently on the voice faculty of The Capital University Conservatory of Music and the Alto Soloist at Linworth United Methodist Church in Columbus, Ohio.