The baritone Michael Arivony was born in Madagascar and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar. During his studies he received several scholarships, including a full scholarship from the Royal Academy of Music, the Deutschlandstipendium and the Charlotte Krupp Scholarship.
With his duo partner, the pianist Teodora Oprisor, he won first prize at the International Student LiedDuo Competition in Groningen in 2020, third prize at the international Lied competition ‘Das Lied’ in Heidelberg in 2019 and second prize at the International Duo Competition ‘Suzana Szörenyi’ in 2017. In addition, Michael Arivony was nominated in 2019 for the SWR Junge Opernstars (SWR Young Opera Stars) and participated in the development programme ‘Neue Stimmen – Creating Careers’. In 2021 he represented his native country in the renowned BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition and won third prize at the International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition.
As a recitalist he has appeared at the Krzyżowa Music Festival in Poland, the Académie Orsay-Royaumont in Paris and the Victoria de los Ángeles Lied Festival among others.
In 2020 he became a member of the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera, joining their permanent ensemble in 2022. At the Vienna State Opera, he has sung roles including Marullo (Rigoletto), Paris (Roméo et Juliette), Dancaïro (Carmen), Figaro and Bartolo in a children’s version of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dandini (La Cenerentola), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Roucher (Andrea Chénier), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes). In the 2024/25 season he will move to the ensemble of the Vienna Volksoper, where he will sing roles including Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro).
Alongside his singing career, Michael Arivony is active as a conductor. He was chief conductor of London’s St Bartholomew’s Orchestra for two seasons and has been a musical assistant and guest conductor with the Chineke! Orchestra. In 2017 he founded the Michael Rakotoarivony Association, to promote music education in his home country of Madagascar.
