Mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux and guitarist/Baritone Adam Simon present a musical program of chansons françaises (French songs) by some of the most beloved Francophone artists of the 20th century: Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Barbara, François Hardy, Django Reinhardt, and more.
Sophie et Adam, the western MA based eclectic duo of Sophie Michaux and Adam Jacob Simon, present “Sous le Ciel de Paris”, a program of chansons françaises (French songs) by some of the most beloved Francophone artists of the 20th century: Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Georges Brassens, Barbara, François Hardy, Django Reinhardt, and more. No need to understand French to enjoy this musical evening: native French singer Sophie Michaux introduces these timeless songs and the stories they tell to bring the audience into this magical world. Individually Sophie Michaux and Adam Simon collaborate musically with some of the most vibrant ensembles in New England: The Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Early Music Festival, The Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, Blue Heron, Harvard and Williams University, Culomba, Tiny Glass Tavern, Village Harmony, etc. But as a duo, they create a warm and intimate moment in which time stops, and music speaks.
Artist Bios:
Praised as a “warm, colorful mezzo” by Opera News, French mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux has become one of North-America’s most versatile and compelling vocalists. Born in London and raised in the French alps, Sophie’s unique background informs her artistic identity, making her feel at home in an eclectic span of repertoire ranging from grand opera to French cabaret songs. The current season brings a number of exciting engagements for Sophie including the role of Alcina in the Haymarket Opera Company’s production of Francesca Caccini’s La Liberation di Ruggiero dall’Isola d’Alcina in Chicago, a Hawaii tour with Les Délices, concerts around the US and Canada with Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, as well as the recording of Tiny Glass Tavern’s new record. A consummate singing actor, Sophie is known for her committed portrayals of a wide variety of demanding roles on the opera stage. Sophie recently appeared as Olofernes in Scarlatti’s La Giuditta (Haymarket Opera), Ceres in Boston Early Music Festival’s production of Lalande’s rarely-staged Les Fontaines de Versailles, garnering acclaim from the Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “astonishing range and flexibility.” She has sung the title roles of La Cenerentola (NEMPAC), Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (Opera Brittenica), and Rinaldo (Boston Opera Collaborative) for which she was nominated as Best Female Performer in an Opera for the 2015 Arts Impulse Theatre Awards. Sophie has enjoyed the challenge of interpreting a number of modern and contemporary opera roles, among them Anne in To Hell and Back by Jake Heggie (Boston Opera Collaborative), Mrs. Soames in Our Town by Ned Rorem (Boston Opera Collaborative), Higuchi in Troubled Water by Mischa Salkind-Pearl (Guerilla Opera), and Ceres in The Tempest by Joseph Summer (The Shakespeare Concerts).Sophie is also a sought-after soloist on the concert platform. Recent solo engagements include: Clorinda in Monteverdi’s Il Combattimento di Tancredi e di Clorinda (A Far Cry), Alto soloist in DeFalla’s El Amor Brujo (Lowell Chamber Orchestra), Mozart’s Coronation Mass (Dartmouth College Handel Society), Handel’s Dixit Dominos (Upper Valley Baroque), Messiah (New England Classical Singers), the world-premiere Paul Rudoi’s Transcendental Passion (Boston Cecilia), Beethoven’s Mass in C (Chorus of Westerly), Bach Magnificat (New England Classical Singers), Handel’s Messiah (Trinity Church of Boston), Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle (Metropolitan Chorale), and many others. Ms. Michaux’s numerous awards include the William Grogan Award in the 2022 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo, and the 2nd place at the 2021 Handel Aria Competition. She was also a finalist in the Opera Columbus’ Cooper-Bing Competition, and in the 2019 Talent of the World Competition. Sophie is a member of the Lorelei Ensemble and of Blue Heron, and has collaborated with many companies, ensembles, and orchestras around the US including: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Haymarket Opera Company, Roomful of Teeth, Bach Collegium San Diego, Dartmouth College Handel Society, Palaver Strings, Ruckus, Upper Valley Baroque, and Lowell Chamber Orchestra, and others. She can be heard on recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival, Blue Heron, the Lorelei Ensemble, Palaver Strings, La Cappella Mediterranea, The Revels, The Shakespeare Concerts, and Northern Harmony. In addition to classical music, Sophie is passionate about performing folk music, world music, and popular song literature. She founded Tiny Glass Tavern, an eclectic cross genre ensemble, and Sophie et Adam a folk music duo with guitarist and singer Adam Jacob Simon, which recently presented an Edith Piaf Tribute Night at Cambridge’s Club Passim. She is also the co-founder of Culomba, a world music vocal ensemble that audaciously brings together audiences to experience the beauty and diversity of vocal music from very disparate styles, time periods, and regions.
Composer Adam Jacob Simon (b. 1987) has enjoyed many recent performances and commissions from nationally acclaimed ensembles including Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, Cantus, Tiny Glass Tavern, Palaver Strings, Conspirare, Seraphic Fire, WordSong Boston, and the Oriana Consort. His music has been praised as “…full-throated and exhilarating…” – The Boston Globe and “…swept with a mercurial traversal of emotions…” – The Boston Musical Intelligencer. In 2010 he won the St. Botolph Club Emerging Artist Award to record his String Quartet #1 with the Mt. Auburn String Quartet, founded by popular Boston cellist, Rafael Popper Keizer. His compositions are regularly performed throughout the US and Europe. He is an accomplished singer as well, recently performing the tenor solos in Mozart’s Mass in c minor with the Onion River Chorus in Montpelier VT. His voice is described as having a “wonderful romantic lyricism” and “reassuring warmth” – Times Argus. Recent solo highlights have been the tenor Evangalist in Arvo Pärt’s “Passio” and baritone in Duruflé’s Requiem with the Trinity Church Choirs in Boston, where he serves as staff singer. He is an avid folk singer performing frequently with VT based vocal ensemble Northern Harmony, traveling throughout Europe, South Africa and the U.S. As co-founder of the folk music duo “Sophie et Adam” alongside French mezzo-soprano Sophie Michaux, he frequently performs a varied repertoire of European and American folk music. Adam has a Master’s degree in Music composition from Tufts University in Medford MA, where he studyied with Boston composer John McDonald. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge MA, studying composition with Howard Frazin, and music theory with Judy Ross. Adam lives in the foothills of the Berkshires in Western MA, where he serves as Director of Music at Edwards Church in Northampton.
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