Canadian born, international soprano and actress, Melissa Purnell, is currently living and working in Italy. She has performed in countries such as, Canada, Mexico, Italy, France, and Portugal.
Melissa Purnell was born in Calgary, Canada. She received her “Performing Arts – Music” diploma from Douglas College and her “Voice Performance” diploma from the Vancouver Academy of Music.
In the summer of 2013, she gave performances in Mexico at the Tec de Monterrey in Guanajuato and the Festival de Musica de Camara Dolores Hidalgo.
In Vancouver, she performed as the title role in Suor Angelica in Suor Angelica, as Hanna in Die Lustige Witwe by Franz Lehár and as the Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro. In 2013, she won the “Eva Bene” prize and performed at the Orpheum Theatre with the conductor, Leslie Dala, in the “Vancouver Academy of Music Showcase”.
In 2016, she transferred to Italy where she studies with Fernando Cordeiro Opa.
In Italy, she performed as a soloist in the Bach Cantata BWV 79 with Bologna’s Collegium Musicum Almae Matris choir with the conductor, Carlo Tenan, in Grans, France, she participated in the “Festival Piano Voce”, in Brindisi she sang in the “Verdi Gala” with Fabio Armiliato and Stefano Miceli. In 2023, she performed with the Orchestra Città di Vigevano for their New Year’s Day concert at Teatro Cagnoni, and in March 2024, she sang in the “Gran Galà dell’Opera” at the Teatro Malibran with the conductor, Nicola Simoni and the Orchestra del Teatro La Fenice. In April 2024, she performed as the soloist for the Italian premier of the oratorio, Ecce Cor Meum by Paul McCartney with conductor Lorenzo Bizzarri at the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara.
She attended the Accademia Lirica Internazionale di Padova Masterclass in 2017 and 2018 with Fernando Cordeiro Opa and Stefano Vizioli where, in 2018, she performed as Alice in Falstaff by Verdi with stage direction by Stefano Vizioli. In September 2018, she appeared as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with stage direction by Pablo Maritano in Rovigo and in 2019, as Musetta in La Boheme in Cesano Boscone. She participated at “Corso d’Opera 2020” where she appeared in concert with stage direction by Hugo de Ana. In November 2021, she debuted as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Teatro Duse, Bologna, with conductor, Tommaso Ussardi and director, Giovanni Dispenza, and in the same role in October 2022 at the Civico Teatro Cagnoni, Vigevano, with conductor, Andrea Raffanini and director, Fabio Buonocore. In 2023, she debuted as Violetta Valéry in La Traviata at the Taranto Opera Festival, with conductor, Francesco Bottigliero and director, Luigi Travaglio. She then performed the same role, with the same director, at Rendano Arena in Cosenza, with conductor, Massimo Testa. In September, she debuted Mimì in La Bohéme at Teatro Zandonai in Rovreto with the conductor Lorenzo Tazzieri and stage director Danilo Coppola.
She has performed in various theatre productions such as Come and Go, where she appeared as Flo for Geoffrey B. Small’s women’s fashion runway show in Paris. She has also performed as Ms. Quickly in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor and as Titania in an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Teatro Boxer.
Melissa won a premio speciale in the “1° Premio Città di Diano Marina”, and in the “Concorso Lirico Internazionale Salice d’oro Special Edition 2019” held by the Fondazione Teatro Coccia di Novara, a Premio Ruolo for Donna Anna in the “1° Concorso Lirico Internazionale “Città di Vigevano”” and a 2° Premio in the lirical competition, “Rinaldo Pelizzoni”. In 2022 she won a 2° Premio in the “1° Concorso Lirico Internazionale Eugenia Burzio” and a premio speciale in the “3° Concorso Internazionale Ottavio Garaventa”.
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