Michaela Chiste is a soprano hailing from Okotoks, Alberta. Originally trained as a stage actor, she spent most of her life studying and performing in the dramatic arts and musical theatre before crossing over to the world of classical singing in 2013. She completed her Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of John Tessier at the University of Alberta in 2017. She completed her Master's degree in Vocal Literature and Performance at the University of Western Ontario under soprano Jackalyn Short in 2022.​

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She has performed as a concert soloist and recitalist both internationally and across Canada. She has served as soloist in works such as Benjamin Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb and A Ceremony of Carols, and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. Her most notable work as a chamber musician is her premiering of The Dream, a cantata for soprano and pianoforte by Anders Muskins at the Alberta Mozart Festival in 2016. Michaela is passionate about contemporary music and has premiered several new art songs and operas, including Ronald Beckett's song cycle Songs of Fracture (2019) and Bouquet (2022), for which she authored the poetry. 

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Michaela received praise for her debut portrayal of Mimì in Puccini's La Bohème with Mercury Opera. Opera Canada described her performance as "a fine balance of fragility and hopefulness".  She was also described as "effective... a great actress" (I Don't Get It), and that she "rises to the occasion" (Daze Magazine) and "more than holds her own among the seasoned cast" (Edmonton Journal). In 2025, Ludwig van Toronto acknowledged her "clear, soaring soprano" for her performance as Mieke and Liesgen in Bach's Peasant and Coffee Cantatas.

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Other notable roles include Alcina (Alcina), Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Principal (.Gabriel), Frasquita (Carmen), Gustave (Pomme d’Api), and The Boy (Der Jasager). Michaela is an alumna of Arcady's Emerging Artist Program and former roster singer for Cowtown Opera.

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Along with pianist Theodore Chow, Michaela co-founded the voice-piano duo Echo North. Their debut EP, La Solitaire, features Xavier Leroux’s rarely performed song cycle of the same name. Echo North is the first ensemble to record two of the three songs in the set despite its existence for over 130 years.​

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As a poet and librettist, her works have been set by composers Ronald Beckett (Songs of Fracture, Bouquet, The City), Dylan Langan (The Dino Opera), and Benjamin Schmalz (Maybe). Recently added to her catalogue is a trio of short, chamber operas: The Innkeeper, with music by Ronald Beckett, The Gardener, with music by Emma Verdonk, and The Scholars, with music by Benjamin Gabbay. The trio of operas were premiered in March 2026 by Arcady.

Michaela is a SSHRC-funded scholar which enabled her to present a research-based lecture-recital on the topic of Men Writing Women in 2021, and a three-time recipient of various grants from Canada Council for the Arts. With fellow soprano Daniela Agostino, she recently co-produced a performance of Weisensel/Cavanagh’s City Workers in Love & Gisela in Her Bathtub as a memorial to the operas’ librettist, Michael Cavanagh. She also proudly serves as an arts administrator to Arcady and Opera on the Avalon.​