This interview was originally recorded on May 4th, 2023.
The Oral History Project is supported by the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation.

Michelle Bradley, soprano 

Grammy-nominated soprano Michelle Bradley has performed on many of the world’s leading opera stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vienna State Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. A graduate of the Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she is known for her commanding portrayals of Verdi heroines, including Aida and Leonora, and has also earned acclaim in roles such as Tosca, Madame Lidoine, Donna Anna, and Liù. In concert, she has appeared with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony, and has performed under conductors such as James Conlon, Andris Nelsons, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

She is a recipient of the Leonie Rysanek Award, the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, and top prizes from the George London and Gerda Lissner Foundations.

Transcript

Piper Gunnarson: Thank you Michelle for being with us and sharing some insights from your part of the field. I would be remiss if I didn't kick things off with Marc Scorca's favorite question: who took you to your first opera?

Michelle Bradley: My first opera: I was introduced by Andrew W. Smith. He was my first voice teacher at Kentucky State University. I was 17 when I started college and he showed me Turandot. It was on a VHS (tape), and he had this big system set up in his office, and he played it. And it was Turandot with Plácido Domingo and Leona Mitchell was Liù. And I fell in love with opera at the end, and I went to the library immediately after that and took out the Turandot cassette tapes. I can't remember who the singers were, but it was back when we had Walkmans and I walked around with that, listening to it all day, every day. And I had really long hair so I could hide my earphones under my hair, and I'd sit and listen to it in class - I was a wonderful student. But it was Andrew Smith. And not only did he help me fall in love with opera, he made me believe that I could do it as well. He told me I had the voice for it, and I believed him.

Piper Gunnarson: That's fantastic. Now, that's so interesting. So, your first opera experience was on a VHS.

Michelle Bradley: That's how old I am.

Piper Gunnarson: You and me both. So, what was your first experience going to an opera house?

Michelle Bradley: It was with Mr. Smith as well. It was Salome at Louisville Opera. And I remember it was my first experience, like going out. We got all dressed up. It was myself and other students. He took us to this really nice restaurant, and things that I had never experienced before. And then we went to the opera. I'm sorry, I don't remember who was singing it or anything, but it was Salome. And at the end, of course, the Dance of the Seven Veils and seeing her, and it was very tasteful. I think she ended up in like a bikini or something, but still - the music, I had never heard anything like that before. So I owe Mr. Smith a lot. He's no longer with us, unfortunately, but I owe him a lot as to where I am now.

Piper Gunnarson: It sounds like he was a very pivotal figure in your journey.

Michelle Bradley: Very much like a dad.

Piper Gunnarson: That's wonderful. Do you remember what your initial impressions were of those two first operas? And has your impression of them shifted at all over time, as you've gotten to know the work better?

Michelle Bradley: It wasn't necessarily those two operas, if I may be honest. I mean, I was mesmerized, yes. I loved the music, because I'd never heard anything like that before. I'm a church girl, so all I heard was gospel. And maybe once in a while my parents would've played some Motown or soul music, but that was really all that I was exposed to and, you know, R&B. But Mr. Smith also introduced me to Leontyne Price. He had a wonderful picture of her in his office, and I'd go for my voice lessons, and I didn't know who this woman was, but it was a picture where like, her eyes were always staring at me, and I was like, "Who is this?" And she had this big old, wonderful boa-constrictor-fur thing around her neck. It was one of those great diva pictures, and she was just looking right at you. And I finally asked him, "Who is that?" And he told me who it was, and he gave me her Prima Donna album. And I took it and listened to that, and that's when I said like, "This is where my voice belongs", those words verbatim. "This is where my voice belongs. This is what I can do". That's the first thought that came to me, because growing up, singing in church, it was expected of me, I guess, that I would just sing gospel and hymns the rest of my life, or as my older brother makes fun of me and say, I'd "marry some old jackleg preacher", you know, just marry some guy. And we'd start this little church up somewhere and just save souls all over Kentucky. But I really didn't think I'd go any further than that, honestly. But when I heard her, it was like I knew that I could do it. And that's what I started pursuing. I didn't know where it would take me. I knew that I wouldn't fit in as a gospel singer. I knew I wasn't a pop singer. I knew I wasn't a Beyoncé, or a Whitney Houston. I just knew that I can't dance, and I don't have that type of stuff. But I knew that I could stand up there and sing the things that I heard her do. And Mr. Smith, he just put me on the path to do it.

Piper Gunnarson: So, Mr. Smith was a professor of yours in college?

Michelle Bradley: Kentucky State University.

Piper Gunnarson: And you were studying voice at time?

Michelle Bradley: Yes.

Piper Gunnarson: So what led you to study voice, if you hadn't yet found opera? What were you thinking that your career might look like?

Michelle Bradley: I didn't even know the word 'career', to be honest. I'm sorry; I didn't.

Piper Gunnarson: Who does at 17?

Michelle Bradley: That too. I come from a family of workers. My people work hard. Everybody has a job or two jobs, and we get up and go to work, and that's what I knew I was going to do. If it was something I wanted, I was going to have to go get a job, so I can get it. You know, if it was somewhere I wanted to make it to, I'm gonna get a job so I can get it. Now yes, I had the privilege of being the only girl out of three boys, and my daddy would help me - you know, I was the princess, if you will. But still, princess had to get up and go to work too. So, I never thought about 'career'. And funny enough, my social studies teacher was the one that told me, "You know what? You should go to this school, and you should maybe try to study voice, study music". It was her and the soccer coach. My social studies teacher was Terri Morford, and the soccer coach was Andrea Brown. People that knew my family. You know, I come from a tight-knit community in Woodford County, Kentucky. So, everybody knew each other. But they were the two that said, "Girl, we've been listening to you sing through church all your life". I'd sing at all the pep rallies at school, the soccer games, football, whatever, any big event. National Anthem: call me. And she said, "You know, you can really do more with this". I didn't know that. And my parents, they did the best they could with me and my brothers. And they just told us, "If it's something you want to do, you work hard". They gave me the work ethic; they just didn't know the path. So, Ms. Morford and Andrea Brown, they taught me the path, like, "Let's try and apply to Kentucky State University. Let's take the SATs". Let's do all this stuff that I wasn't trying to do. And I got an audition. I got a choir scholarship with Dr. Carl H. Smith. He was over at the Kentucky State University Concert Choir. I got in there. And mind you, I just knew how to hear music. I played piano by ear. I taught myself piano. I just listened to things. I would listen to Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, The Clark Sisters, James Cleveland - I mean, a lot of just different things - Stevie Wonder. And I would just imitate; that's how I learned. But when I got to Kentucky State and figured out, "Oh no, I have to learn how to read music". I was like, "Oh my God". And the first day of school, we had a choir rehearsal, and they put this sheet music in front of me, and I know I looked up and everybody just started singing, 'cause they were from schools where they taught music like that. I just learned by ear. But I ended up teaching myself how to read music, basically. But it was Ms. Morford, my social studies teacher that told me, "Go to college, get a degree in music". And then it just kept going from there.

Piper Gunnarson: This is such an interesting and unexpected collection of mentors and champions that had your back at that young age. I don't know that very many people would think of the social studies teacher or the soccer coach as being the folks who would push them forward towards an arts career. That's really incredible. You've mentioned some of your artistic inspirations as well. Can you tell us a bit more about those singers that you really just fell in love with and inspired you, and what was your journey like, finding your own voice alongside learning theirs?

Michelle Bradley: My first love in singing was Whitney Houston. And I mean, I was of that generation. I remember when The Bodyguard came out. I remember all the songs, (sings) "How will I know...?"...all of that. And I would try my best to sound like her. Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin too. I tried my best, and I've said this in other interviews before, I really did sing in my closet when I was growing up. I was very shy, and at school I didn't really fit in with anyone, so, coming home from school, I'd have to do my chores, and then I would sing in the closet until my parents got off work, and then I'd just be quiet for the rest of the time. But I was really trying to sound like them. They were my first inspirations. Really, Whitney Houston was number one for me. Still is honestly - just the beauty, her character, her voice, her face, the performances she gives. She just poured out everything, every time, no matter what. And even later in her career - you know, some people want to give her a hard time - that's what greatness is, that you gave so much of yourself that even when you don't have anything else to give, you still get out there and give something. People want to down Maria Callas, but she'd make you cry even when her voice was cracking. But that was one of my great inspirations. When I got introduced to opera, it was Leontyne Price all the way, because when I heard that Prima Donna album, and one of the first songs I remember hearing was 'Depuis le jour', and it was like a wave of music just kept coming over me. I remember I was in the cafeteria at K State, and I was just sitting there listening to it, eating my little lunch and stuff. And I just went through that whole album and just kept it on me too. And yet again, we had the portable CD players. I could hide the headphones. I just walk around campus listening to her. And that was my first inspiration. But as I got more and more into opera, it was Martina Arroyo and Maria Callas, Aprile Millo, Deborah Voigt. And then to get all the way to the Lindemann Program and actually meet some of these folks that I'd been listening to and studying, and never in a million years would I think I'd meet them or hear them, or have coachings with them, or they'd even talk to me. So, that was a whole other thing right there.

Piper Gunnarson: What was your first opera role?

Michelle Bradley: My very first opera role was at Kentucky State University. It was Così fan tutte. I was Fiordiligi, but we did it in English, but yeah, I was so proud of myself. I had learned it by myself. I knew how to read music by then. It gave me my first professional experience. Mr. Smith did that. He had a friend, Dean. That's all we knew him by, Dean. But he had worked with Cincinnati Opera. He was an older gentleman, and he would come and coach us, and I didn't even know what coaching meant. I learned that during that time. You know, coaching means they correct you in your language and your production of tone and everything. And so I had all of that, and I was able to catch on. And then we performed it. And I remember it was Courtney Cleveland, and then Raymond Brown and Phumzile Sojola. He was a South African tenor. He was brought in from UK (University of Kentucky). And the guys had these horrible wigs. And I mean, it was to the point that every time they did a move, the wig would shift, and it'd be just something different, and it would make me giggle, and I'd have to try to stay in character while we did the opera. But it was just such a fun experience. I think that's when I really, really fell in love with it, because not only did I just hear the music, but it was that I got to perform it, and I got to come out of my shell. I got to be a actress because Fiordiligi, she's the older sister and she's the more serious one, and she gets mad. And, you know, trying to, I guess, press down her desires, which we know, she really wants to go through with a lot of things, but she wants to be a lady about it. She's in the most turmoil. But I always look back at that, even now with the operatic performances I've done, I want to have or want to keep that same joy I had when I did that, and I was 19 then.

Piper Gunnarson: That makes a lot of sense. I think for a lot of people in this industry, that those early days had such a profound impact on us and will always be a cherished moment for us. So, you came into your college part of your career, and had to kind of learn trial by fire a bit - of learning how to read music, and I'm guessing also learning about the different languages involved in opera. Did you find that other students in your program were at a similar place? Or did they already know some of these things? How did you find yourself within the atmosphere there?

Michelle Bradley: Honestly, I feel like I'm a late-bloomer with everything, even college. Kentucky State in Frankfort, Kentucky, they were bringing in students from like Detroit and Cleveland, and places where they had schools that were like music schools, where the focus was reading music, and they had great choirs and things. I'm literally coming outta high school, and the only training I had was Porter Memorial Baptist Church, so that I was behind. Even when I got to the Lindemann Program, I was behind. I know I was a little older than my colleagues, and they had already been to conservatories. They had studied languages. Even K State students, they knew of Italian and French and German. I really didn't know any of that. So I feel like I've always been playing catch up through my whole career. I've had to..."Okay, the only way I'm gonna get this, I'm gonna have to work a little harder", because I don't know what my colleagues know. I really don't, so I had to work a little harder. So yes, I consider myself a late-bloomer, and I'm still trying to catch up to everybody else.

Piper Gunnarson: I think a lot of us are. It sounds like maybe that has been a bit of a challenge, but what would you say have been some of the biggest challenges of turning that artistry that you found and developed as a singer, into a professional career?

Michelle Bradley: I don't know if I ever thought of it that way. And I just know to get out there and sing and give of myself. And that's really all I know how to do. And at that time, it's everything I got. And it might be enough for you; it might not be, but it's literally everything I got. I don't know how else to answer that question. I learn the music and I get out there and I sing it to the best of my ability and trust and believe whenever I'm on that stage, that's everything. When I leave that stage, I am tired. I am tired.

Piper Gunnarson: That's great. And I think between that and what you were saying about feeling like a late-bloomer and playing catch-up a little bit is such a testament to, of course, your work ethic, but also just your passion for what you do. Are there composers or operas that you are particularly passionate about performing?

Michelle Bradley: Well, first off, anything I'm singing, I love it. Or even if I don't love it at first, I find a way to love it, like it, find something that compels me to it. The Hermit Songs are a staple in my recital rep, and they were given to me by Michael Heaston when I was still in the Lindemann Program. And Valeria Palomino was my pianist. And I went to her and I was like, "I can't sing this stuff", because it was by Samuel Barber; it was contemporary music, and the rhythms would be all over the place and the pitches, and it was too much for me. But now that I've learned them, they're in me and I sing 'em all the time. So anything I do, I find a way to love it. But yes, Verdi is my number one guy, anything by him. It's not just Aida. It's Un Ballo, La Forza del Destino, which I had the privilege to do in Frankfurt, Germany. I would love to do that again. Il Trovatore, another favorite of mine, and that was one of the first operas I heard Leontyne Price do as well. (I mean, on YouTube of course; I didn't hear in person). But then something that came as a surprise to me was Tosca. I've been singing a lot of her lately. I recently did her at Opera San Diego and also debuted at the house and in the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. And she's become a character and the music that I've really fallen in love with Puccini. And it's inspired me to try to tackle Madam Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, not just Liù, which I also did at The Met, but to just delve into something different. And yeah, Puccini, Mozart. I do Donna Anna; I'm learning Donna Elvira. So, just really stepping out of the box. But anybody that I'm working on, any composer, those guys I immediately love. But the other ones, I just learn to fall in love with.

Piper Gunnarson: You mentioned that Tosca came as a surprise to you. Why is that?

Michelle Bradley: I never thought I'd do that. I never thought I'd sing that role. First off, that's like the Maria Callas role. I wouldn't dare touch that, not of my own accord. But then my agent called me and he said, "You're gonna do it at Chicago Lyric Opera", my heart went up in my throat, and then I just started watching Maria Callas all the time. It was also a surprise because I just thought I was gonna do Verdi all the time. I was always told that I was Aida, but I found that it's more to me than Aida. Not that I don't love her, not that I don't love singing her, but there's other things that this voice can do. Don't put me in a box.

Piper Gunnarson: That's a great point. Are there challenges outside that box that you would like to tackle?

Michelle Bradley: It's always the acting. I never thought of myself as a actress, but Tosca really did teach me that I am, because she's so temperamental. You know, one minute she's loving all over Cavaradossi (sings 'Non la sospiri la nostra casetta') and all of this stuff, and then the next thing you know, she's hollering at him and then she kills Scarpia. That's just in the span of a hour, she went through all of that. But I was able to pull it off, and I was like (gestures proud). But I love the challenge of that. Tosca - I think when I was studying her - was the first opera that I went to like, it's a movie script. I can't look at the music first. I really had to read through the libretto first to figure like, how can I make this believable? 'Cause Aida is a little more passive, you know? She doesn't really get to come out until 'Ritorna vincitor', or the scene with her father. It's just like a couple of specific places. Tosca, especially if you've never seen the opera before, you don't know when she's gonna pop off. So, you just sitting there waiting, "Oh, oh, she about to go off. She, she about to go off". So it was nice to have that challenge. So every opera that I do, I look forward to how can I make it, not only believable to the audience that I sing for, but it's first gotta be believable to me. Can I believe in the notes I'm singing? It's never really, "Can I sing the notes?" It's "Can I believe in the notes?" You know what I'm saying? Can I believe in what I'm about to give you? 'Cause if I don't, you'll see it. You will. And I'll feel it. And then it'll be horrible. So there we are.

Piper Gunnarson: It's so interesting that with Tosca, you feel like you need to sink into that libretto first before the music even. Have you found that with any other roles you've played, or operas that you've needed to tackle?

Michelle Bradley: Not as much as Tosca. As I said, I started learning music by ear. So, usually the music sticks with me first; I can learn it fast, it'll stay. But with Tosca, it was a challenge to me. Even when my agent called me and said, "You're gonna sing this role", or "They want you to sing this role", I knew that that was like another step for me, because I can get all the other stuff a little bit more easier, but Tosca needed something different. She is a actress. But I learned from her to study my librettos more for other operas. Even when I return to Aida or I return to Donna Anna, I look at the libretto first. What more can I give to the music that I already know? I perform these roles enough. The music's already there, but what more can I do to feel these notes, or to make you feel these notes and these characters and what they're going through. And to live with them more, think about 'em more.

Piper Gunnarson: That sounds like such a delicious process. You've mentioned you've played Aida a couple times. So what role have you played the most? Is it Aida?

Michelle Bradley: Aida, yeah.

Piper Gunnarson: Is there anything new you've learned about her along the way, each time you've performed, or new perspectives of it?

Michelle Bradley: Yeah. She's hard. She is the epitome, at least for me, of vocal, just everything. If I can sing her, I can sing anything. I recently did Aida in Fort Worth. I was very pleased with my performances there. And it let me know I still got it. I'm in good shape. And now I can go on to sing Donna Anna in Japan in June. You know, I can sing anything after her, but what I've learned, I think, after doing Tosca, actually, as I said before, (is) how to delve into the character of Aida even more. She is kind of passive and you can kind of tell it's just certain places in the opera - the scene with her father. I think that's where I get to do my most acting, you know (sings 'Padre, padre....patria patria) and, you know, telling my father, "I'm in love with Radamès" and all of this pressure's put on me to uphold and uplift the country. That's the scene where I really get to be a Tosca, if you will. So I try to incorporate that more into Aida, because it's easy to - because well, at least for me - you can get lost in the singing and trying to place everything right but not allowing her character to flow through. 'Cause she is very passionate. She's different from Tosca in that Aida keeps her composure in places where Tosca wouldn't. And Aida has to, because unlike Tosca, Aida'd get killed if she speaks up. You know, the second act where she tells Amneris, "I'm just like you". She almost lets it out that, "I'm a princess of Ethiopia; I'm at the same level as you are". And she had to stop it, 'cause it could mean death for not only her, but all her people. So, it's a fine line with Aida. That's something that I've really homed in on, if you will, of how to play that and to believe in that more, and to portray that to my audiences that hear me do it.

Piper Gunnarson: Do you have a routine that you do to help kind of dive into a new part, or a new production?

Michelle Bradley: It's not just a new production, it's any production. Before even rehearsals or before any performance, I have to go out in nature. Recently when I was in Fort Worth, before any performance, and even on my days off, there was this park I found, and it was a saving grace. And I'd go there in the mornings when it was cool. I'd go there in the evenings at sunset. They have a creek that run through there and have a waterfall, and I'd sit by that. I listened to some gospel music or some soul music, pray, think, process stuff. Think about even little things like, "Why did I do that? Why did I say that?" I'm a overthinker; just get everything out. Talk to my closest friends or family members, all of that. And that's something that I have to do. And then when I get to the venue, I like to arrive really, really early, usually a hour or two before call time. And I just like to sit in my room and be quiet. I don't want any music going. I don't want any, not to be rude...I just, as a lead singer...usually I do title roles. Everybody is always at your dressing room. They want to talk to you about your hair or your costume, or the coaches will come in and want to give you notes on the music or the Italian or the French or German or whatever language I'm singing in. And I want to have some peace and quiet before all that comes, because once it starts, like a good 30 minutes before curtain, it doesn't stop. And I don't have a chance to even process it all. Sometimes I don't even know how I remember certain things. My brain just...I guess it just locks into...they tell me all this information, just suck it up. But, nature, peace and quiet, time to pray and center myself and be around people that I know truly love me. And that helps me get out on stage every night.

Piper Gunnarson: I'm hearing a common thread that - as a child when you were singing in the closet and you were kind of, with yourself for that and finding those times to be in nature and focus - that finding that time to center yourself, with just yourself, or with the close people around you is really important. And that can be a very different experience for a performer when they're in a production with all of those people you just mentioned in a cast, and everybody, compared to recital work. And you do both. So, how do those experiences feel the same or different for you - recital work versus productions?

Michelle Bradley: Productions and recital work feel the same, in that I prepare for them the same way, as you said. And I don't mind being by myself for the most part. I think I need that too. I guess I'm a introvert. I need to rejuvenate in order to give to people. Secondly, the difference is, I think, with the audiences in a production...like if I'm singing on a huge stage somewhere, Chicago Lyric or something, I don't really see the audience, because the lights like now, they're shining in my face. I can't really see anybody. But in recitals, it's more of a intimate space. And I have grown, I guess, in my confidence that I like to make eye contact with people when I sing. I like to find somebody that I can pinpoint for certain phrases, and to let them know, or I want to connect. I mean, that's the whole point that we come to performances; we want to feel a connection. People are speaking something that we've been through. I want you to know that I know. So that's the only (difference). Maybe altogether it's the same. It's just the size is different, because I think I can do the same thing in a opera house too, even at The Met, sometimes looking out, it's like looking into an abyss. I'm not going to see everybody, but I can just look at a point. But I know it's somebody sitting there, because it's 4,000 seats in that house, you know? I forget how many it is at Chicago Lyric, but that's a huge house too. San Francisco, I'm sure I locked eyes with somebody; I just didn't know. It's funny, I am a introvert, but at the same time, I love intimacy as well. That's why I'm crazy. Leave me alone, but don't go too far.

Piper Gunnarson: That's interesting about the scale of the houses that you're in. What are some of your favorite houses you've been in?

Michelle Bradley: I can't think of any one that hasn't been my favorite; everywhere I sing is gonna be my favorite. I want to give my best and people are coming to see and hear me, and I want to give 'em what I got, at that time. So I mean, if we're talking like acoustics or something, The Met, of course, is special to me because I came up in there. Chicago Lyric was a wonderful experience because first off, I'd never thought I'd sing Tosca. They gave me that opportunity, and then they allowed me to debut in their house, and they treated me like a queen while I was there. San Francisco as well. I was supposed to do Ernani. I was gonna be Elvira, and of course, Covid shut all that down. But they remembered me and called me back to do Dialogues of the Carmelites, Madame Lidoine. And even there, they never failed to let me know how happy they were to have me there, after everything we'd been through. And I must say they were the ones, or one of the few opera houses that they paid me half my fee that I would've gotten if I had done Ernani, and that kept me afloat during Covid when I'd lost all of my work. They've been very good to me. But those are some that stand out. Royal Opera House in London, I was supposed to have sung there too, and they helped me out during Covid as well. So I don't think I have one particular favorite; I'm just glad to be singing in anybody's house. I'll come sing at your house. Y'all got some chicken or something?

Piper Gunnarson: I would happily cook for you.

Michelle Bradley: I mean, seriously, after 2020 and having that year where I really wasn't singing, I couldn't even go anywhere to practice, I'm very grateful to be back where I am. I've suffered for it in some ways, and felt like I lost some things, but I'm regaining them. But yeah, that was a tough year. And I know everybody can look back and say, "That was a rough year", but from a personal perspective, that was a very tough year. So, I'm happy to be singing in anybody's house. Everybody's house is my favorite house.

Piper Gunnarson: Everybody's house is your favorite house. Every role is your favorite role.

Michelle Bradley: I mean, seriously, I'm not trying to be diplomatic; that's the way I work. I have to love what I'm doing. You know, it's like I said, the Hermit Songs, I didn't like those songs at first, but then when I delved deeper into them, that's my childhood. Or even Knoxville, Summer in Knoxville. That's my childhood. 'It has become that time of evening when people...', you know, that's what my family does. When they get off work, what we do? We gonna sit on the porch and stare at everybody (affects stare). I have to love what I'm doing, because if I don't like it, you're going to see it, and then you'll be like, "Why did I even bother coming to hear this girl?" So, everything that I'm doing is my favorite at that time, and then it'll come back around, and it'll be my favorite again. Right now, I'm about to sing Donna Anna in Japan. That's my favorite role, right now. And then when I come back to Aida or Tosca, she'll be my favorite again. My mom always said I had a one-track mind. That can be a bad thing at times, because I can't multitask to save my life. But trying to focus on something to get somewhere, it's a great thing to have, because you can't let anything else get in the way. So when I'm doing a role, that's my favorite. I'm not thinking about Tosca, if I'm singing Donna Anna. I'm not thinking about Aida, if I'm singing Donna Anna. I'm thinking about Donna Anna. I'm in love with her. What can I do to bring her about and make her real? And how can I make it more realistic? She's a character. Like, how do you decide? Did she really like being with Don Giovanni when he tried to rape her? Did he really go through with it? Did she enjoy it? I mean, seriously, it's a lot that you can do with her. So, I dedicate myself to those things. I can't think about anything else.

Piper Gunnarson: Oh no, that makes sense. I think that the focus and drive that you put into it, and the passion you put into it is clearly what is putting you on this trajectory that you've been on. Have there been any projects that you've worked on, productions or other kinds of projects that have just carried a really special significance for you personally?

Michelle Bradley: Things I've done at The Met have been very special, just 'cause I really never thought I'd be on that stage, and even getting into the Lindemann Program, it was like a blur for me. Like you know, "Oh, I'm here?" Meeting James Levine, Marilyn Horne - people I'd heard of in college - Mr. Smith told me about. I really never thought I'd be there. Special things to me that really stick out though: of course doing Liù at the Met. Someone had gotten sick and I needed to jump in for that. Doing La Forza del Destino in Frankfurt. I had a hard time out there, but I think I did some of my best singing out there, and I'm not trying to gloat on myself. I don't ever do that, but I was sure enough singing out there. I sang the hell out of that. Excuse me, I sang that piece. Second, third, fourth, whatever I'm on, Tosca in Chicago was very special, 'cause I never in a million years thought I'd sing that role. And I didn't know that I'd even get to that house. And then to do it with Russell Thomas of all people. He's very sweet and I think we did well on stage together, and I really just followed his lead. But doing that role, that was really special to me. And I have to say, I felt like a diva; that was the first time I felt like a diva. People want to call me that, and I don't really register, but Tosca is a diva. And that second act, I put that gown on, and I got those gloves and this jewelry and the crown. You couldn't tell me nothing. So, that was special. And San Diego too. I had such wonderful dresses, both productions in Chicago and San Diego as Tosca. Once I get that second act gown on, y'all have to stop me from walking out the opera house in that gown. I knew I was cute - baby mama, wifey, whatever. I'd be somebody's something.

Piper Gunnarson: I love this. And so, you were talking earlier too about how supportive your family was when you were first finding your voice and everything. And I think I had learned that you also spent quite a bit of time with them back in Kentucky during Covid. So, are your family opera lovers?

Michelle Bradley: They are now.

Piper Gunnarson: They are now. You converted them - fantastic. This is, of course, something that we in the opera industry are always talking about - how do we find new audiences? How do we show people how great it can be to just love opera as much as everybody in this industry does? Obviously, they came to opera for you. What do you think kind of got to them about what they could really love about opera, and what could other opera companies take from that? How to really resonate with people?

Michelle Bradley: Well, the first thing, of course, they came for me. My family first came to New York to hear me do one of the Cretan ladies in Idomeneo. Maestro James Levine was conducting. I had a small part, but my family was all in. And my sister-in-law, Lord have mercy, she's like, just, number one fan. I mean, ride or die. She's like, "We're coming? We're coming". And it was like, "Okay, Lisa, just calm down. I'm on stage for like two minutes". But she gathered up my cousins, everybody. They rented a van; they were all there. But I think outside of me just being on the stage, I think they were introduced to another world, and to see somebody that looked like them doing that too. Even when I was in Fort Worth, I had a lot of young African American singers from the chorus coming up to me, like, it's good to see more of us on stage. I think it was that, and just being introduced to another world, you know? A lot of operas, especially with Verdi are taken from literature. Verdi loved Shakespeare. We have Falstaff, Macbeth - you are inspired by reading. And so, just knowing that there's more to just sitting in front of the TV. And not to knock the musicians that are out today, 'cause I ain't gonna lie, I love me some Cardi B and Beyoncé and Rihanna. I want to jam. I like my trap music when I'm riding down the freeway in my Cadillac. But if anything, I would love to introduce young people, not just young African Americans, anybody, this generation that's coming up, that it's more than rap music and pop music, it's more out there. It's a whole other life. It's a history. It's history that we're learning about through opera. A lot of these operas that I'm singing, these things happened, or the places were real. Tosca: that place was real. Idomeneo, all these Greek tragedies, it's stuff that they're supposed to be learning in school. And it's just music being put to it. I think if anything, what I must say, I like the idea of broadcasting. I like that Covid has brought that out more. Even now, things are being, what do you call it, Skype, and put over the internet. People don't have to leave the house, so that means if you can't leave, you can just sit at home and watch it. Or people can watch it on their phones, which is what a lot of young people do now, anyway. Everything is on your phone. I think continuing in that manner can reach people. I'm more of a traditionalist, if I may be honest. So, like Tosca, the production of that Aida, keeping it to the libretto and allowing people to see Ethiopia and Egypt and the cathedrals of Italy and things like that, to keep it that way. Just to allow them to see what that time period was like. And then we can go into other things if you want to, a more contemporary...I think those two things. Staying traditional, using the internet even more. And I think also, it's like what they say, it takes a village, probably reaching the parents as well. I used to teach school when I lived in Houston, Texas, and my failures were when the parents were not on my side or they couldn't see the benefit of what I was giving their children. I remember, I won't name anything, but I was teaching at a school where being a engineer, or a scientist, or a lawyer, or a doctor was valued. Not that that's wrong, but that music was completely (overlooked). I was just there to babysit. And that's not the thing. Music is a profession as well. It is. And it's not that I get out there and song and dance and tap and sing for people, it takes a lot of mental work for me to get out on that stage for people, or practicing a instrument, or even my voice. So, teaching students that too, and incorporating music - I mean, real music in our schools as well. Not just to sit in there and watch videos or watch The Beatles or whoever. Not that I don't love The Beatles, but to really teach them like you can learn this instrument and to put (in) that time and effort. And I do think I've reached a few people, and even when I was teaching school, I know that there are a few students that are still into music now, because of what they learned with me. I'm for sure of it. Some of them I kept in touch on Instagram; it's a very special part of your life, and it's therapeutic too.

Piper Gunnarson: I love hearing all of that. I love the connections that people in this industry will have personally to pop music and other genres of music. And you talked a little bit about your love of Whitney Houston and Beyoncé and Cardi B and all sorts of singers. These seem like a lot of really important artistic inspirations for you. Do they ever find their way in when you're preparing for an opera?

Michelle Bradley: In some ways: just to be free and to not think about what I'm doing. Because when I think about it, everything just gonna go downhill. So, if I'm coming to the opera house and I have a performance, I wanna get there early. I'm riding in the Uber or whatever to get to the venue. Yeah, I listen to Beyoncé. I listen to her and she's always about empowerment and loving yourself, so yeah, she puts me in a good mood. Or I listen to Cardi B, but then when I'm singing, if I feel a little bit more - well never delve away from the music or what the composer wants, but just to have that type of energy. When I'm not singing opera, I love to sing karaoke. I love going to karaoke bars. And the first thing I want to do is Whitney Houston or Selena or Mariah Carey, just to sing, just to have fun, not think about it, not be judged, not to be having some critics out there, trying to tell me how to do my job, and they can't even sing. I don't even want do that, just to have fun at that. And when I've done a opera for a really long time, like Aida, or even Tosca now, she's lived with me for a while. I can kind of let it go, and even though I'm singing the notes that are on the page and what the conductor or what Puccini or Verdi wanted, I can put a little bit of that church girl from Porter Memorial into it.

Piper Gunnarson: I just wanted to finish up by asking you about your next project. You mentioned you're preparing for Donna Anna in Japan. What else do you have coming up?

Michelle Bradley: I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about it just yet, but I do have things that I'm looking very forward to in the future, some of which include masterclasses and teaching. So, I'm gonna try to tell people how to sing; y'all can come if you want to. I'll do my best. But yeah, I have some of those and even some more Aida in my future. As long as I keep singing, then I won't die. So there we go. And I meant that any house is fine. I'll come to your house. As long as I'm singing.

Piper Gunnarson: Well, Michelle, thank you so much for taking time to share all of your great insights with us. Thank you so much.

Michelle Bradley: Thank you.