Michaela Cadwgan is an award-winning soprano from Aotearoa, New Zealand, based in Australasia. She is a First-Class Honours graduate of Te Kōkī The New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University of Wellington, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in German and Italian. Michaela is also an alumna of the New Zealand Opera School and a two-time recipient of the Victorian Opera Opera Prize (2024 & 2025).
Her repertoire spans both traditional and contemporary works. Michaela has performed with leading companies across Australasia, including Victorian Opera, New Zealand Opera, and Wellington Opera, and has collaborated with major ensembles such as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, and Orchestra Wellington. Her roles have included Fanny Price in both NZ Opera’s and Victorian Opera’s Mansfield Park, Glaša in Káťa Kabanová, Bianca in La Rondine, Mrs Hargreaves in Boojum! and the titular role in The Lyrebird’s Voice.
Michaela was a finalist in the 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, where she received the Saluzzo Opera Academy Scholarship, the MOST Audience Prize, and the Merenda Travel Prize. She has also been recognised in the 2025 Herald Sun Aria competition and the Lockwood New Zealand Aria, where she was Runner-Up in 2022 and a Finalist in 2019.
