The young baritone Michael Arivony comes from Madagascar and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the University of Music Franz Liszt in Weimar. During his studies he received a series of scholarships, including the John Talbot Collender Award of the Royal Academy of Music, the Deutschlandstipendium and the Charlotte Krupp Scholarship. In 2021 he represented his home country at the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and was a finalist in the Song Prize. In the same year he won third prize at the International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition.
From autumn 2020, Michael Arivony was a member of the Opera Studio of the Vienna State Opera for two seasons, singing roles including Marullo (Rigoletto), Pâris (Roméo et Juliette), Le Dancaïre (Carmen) and Figaro and Bartolo in a children’s version of Il barbiere di Siviglia. From 2022 to 2024 he was a member of the ensemble of the Vienna State Opera, appearing in roles including Dandini (La Cenerentola), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Roucher (Andrea Chénier), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes).
In summer 2024 Michael Arivony made his Salzburg Festival debut as Mr Astley in Prokofiev’s The Gambler. At the start of the 2024/25 season, he moved to the ensemble of the Vienna Volksoper, where he made role debuts as Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Dr Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro).
In December 2025 he made his debut in the title role of Don Giovanni at the Opera Vlaanderen in Ghent and Antwerp. Following his return to the Salzburg Festival as Le Dancaïre, his engagements will include his debut at La Monnaie in Brussels as Mercutio in a new production of Roméo et Juliette.
As part of his regular work with the Palazzetto Bru Zane Music Centre, Michael Arivony has participated in concerts and CD recordings in France, Monte Carlo and Budapest.
In 2017 he founded the Michael Rakotoarivony Association, to support and promote music education in his home country of Madagascar.
