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Michelle Mariposa is an award winning Filipino-Chinese mezzo-soprano joining the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera for her first season. This season, she will perform as Raksha in Jungle Book and Teacher in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. She will also participate in this year's AOI 20 program as Poly 2 in Mud Girl. Michelle recently won the Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award in the Musicians Club of Women 2024 Vocal Competition. She was also named a winner of the Sullivan Award from the Sullivan Foundation, in addition to winning the Kentucky District round, and an Encouragement Award of the Central Region round of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. This summer, Michelle looks forward to joining the Opera Theater of St. Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, where she makes her OTSL debut as Maria Maddalena in Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei, and covers the title role in Handel’s Julius Caesar. Michelle was recently seen in the ensemble of Chicago Opera Theater’s production of The Nose by Shostakovich, where she also covered the Countess and Podtochina. Michelle was an apprentice singer at the Santa Fe Opera, where she covered Pastore 3 in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. Other operatic roles include Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina, Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and the title role in Menotti's The Medium. In concert, Michelle has performed as an alto soloist in works such as Berio’s Sinfonia,  Handel’s Messiah, Bernstein’s Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Bach's Magnificat and Cantatas 82 and 182, and Jenkin’s The Armed Man. As a recitalist, Michelle has enjoyed collaborations with Chamber Music at Bethany, the FilAm Music Foundation NFP, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago chamber ensembles. Michelle has premiered works by composers in both the Philippines and the United States, such as Jose Buencamino, Yanni Robiennol, Jai Saldajeño, and Gillian Rae Perry.