Born in
Chicago, Illinois, Chevalier studied at the
Northwestern University and at the
Indiana University Bloomington, music and voice with
Virginia Zeani, and also acting and literature. During that time, she appeared in university productions, in roles such as Lauretta in Puccini's
Gianni Schicchi, the First Niece in Britten's
Peter Grimes, and Rosalinde in
Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss. She graduated with a diploma in 1998, and continued her voice studies at the
Juilliard School with Trish McCaffrey. She performed the title role in Carlisle Floyd's
Susannah. She took master classes with
Martina Arroyo, Joan Dornemann,
Renata Scotto and
Giorgio Tozzi, spending the 2000/01 season in Italy, including the festivals
La Piccola Scala in
Milan and the International Opera Festival in Rome. Chevalier was a member of the
Theater Freiburg from 2003 to 2007. Her roles there included Iphise in Jean-Philippe Rameau's
Dardanus, Ilia in Mozart's
Idomeneo, the Countess in his
Le nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in his
Così fan tutte, staged by
Max Färberböck, Adina in Donizetti's ''
L'elisir d'amore and the title role in his Maria Stuarda''. In contemporary music, she collaborated with
André Richard of the
SWR's Experimentalstudio für elektronische Musik (Experimental studio for electronic music) and with
Jean-Baptiste Barrière of
IRCAM in Paris, appearing as Clémence in Kaija Saariaho's opera ''
L'Amour de loin''. She was a member of the
Staatstheater Kassel from 2007 to 2009. Her roles there included Alice Ford in Verdi's
Falstaff, Donna Elvira in Mozart's
Don Giovanni, Iole in Handel's oratorio
Herkules, Blanche in Poulenc's
Gespräche der Karmelitinnen, Angèle Didier in Franz Lehár's
Der Graf von Luxemburg, and in the title role of Donizetti's
Lucia di Lammermoor. She often sang in concert, including a recording of Verdi's
Messa da Requiem. She was a member of the
Staatsoper Hannover from 2009 to 2012, where she appeared as Micaëla in Bizet's
Carmen, as the First Lady in Mozart's
Die Zauberflöte, as Marie in Donizetti's
Die Regimentstochter, and again as his Lucia. In the 2011/12 season, she performed Violetta in Verdi's
La Traviata for the first time. Her performance, staged by , won her a nomination for the German theatre prize
Der Faust. Chevalier was a member of the
Komische Oper Berlin from 2012 to 2017 where she performed roles such as the title role in Handel's Semele, Bernstein's Cunegonde (Candide), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Tytania (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus). In 2016, she performed all female heroines (Stella/Olympia/Antonia/Giulietta) in Offenbach's ''
Les Contes d'Hoffmann'', staged by
Barrie Kosky. In 2017, she appeared in the title role of Aribert Reimann's
Medea. == Awards ==