Biography
French Soprano Mélissa Petit was born in Saint-Raphaël and studied singing both in her hometown and in Nice before joining the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera. After three years there and a further two as a freelance singer, she joined the Zurich Opera in 2015. Her roles with the company have included Sophie (Werther), Marzelline (Fidelio), Aennchen (Der Freischütz) and Créuse in Charpentier’s Médée.
Mélissa Petit resumed her freelance career in 2017 and has enjoyed great success in a series of leading roles that have included Micaëla (Carmen) and Gilda (Rigoletto) at the Bregenz Festival and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) both at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing and at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf. She has also made guest appearances at the Paris Opéra as Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore) and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte).
Reviews
“[… ] Mélissa Petit was delightful as Edilia, with a luminous soprano who has in the coloratura enormous mobility.”
“Der junge Opernstudio-Star Mélissa Petit aber betört mit anschmiegsam jungmädchenhaftem Sopran, liebreizender Verführungssüße und fabelhaften Stimmfarben. Sie gewinnt ihrer Cleopatra auch interessante darstellerische Facetten ab: Die legendäre Schönheit ist hier mehr die emotional noch unstete Kindfrau als die Strippen ziehende Strategin der Liebe. So singt und spielt sich die junge Französin direkt in die Herzen ihres Publikums.”
More Reviews
“La Française Mélissa Petit, jeune soprano à l’émission littéralement angélique, mène sereinement la ligne dévolue à L’Esprit Protecteur des Lombards (Der Lombardische Schutzgeist).”
Bertrand Bolognesi, Anaclase
“Una menzione speciale va per la fresca voce del soprano Mélissa Petit (dama di compagnia di Elisabetta) della compagnia giovane del teatro, la cui “dressing table song” è un gioiello della partitura […]”
Alexei Goukov, OperaClick
“Mélissa Petit war spontan beeindruckender.”
Joachim Mischke, Hamburger Abendblatt
“Ein subtiler Höhepunkt war die einzige Arie von Mélissa Petit als Regimbert/Lombardischer Schutzgeist.”
Michael Pitz-Grewenig, klassik.com