Maria Agrestra, Native of Vallo della Lucania, Likes a Challenge

Mezzo-turned-soprano: Maria Agresta

"Santo di Patria" Attila (Verdi)

"Merce diletto" I Vespri Siciliani

"Arrigo! ah, parli a un cuore" I Vespri Siciliani (Verdi)

"Salce, salce" Otello (Verdi)

"Ave Maria" Otello (Verdi)

"Je dis que rien ne m'épouvante" Carmen (Bizet)

As Odabella in Attila

"Maria Agresta began to study as mezzo at Conservatorio Giuseppe Martucci in Salerno (Italy). In 2006 she won the 60th Competition for Young Opera Singers of Teatro Lirico Sperimentale di Spoleto. The prize directly led to her debut as mezzo in the role of Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia by G. Rossini in Spoleto and in Japan (a tournee with Antonino Siragusa as Conte d'Almaviva). Afterwards she left Salerno and went to Modena, where she continued the studies as soprano at the Conservatorio Orazio Vecchi under the guidance of Ms. Raina Kabaivanska. In 2007 she won as soprano the First International Competition "Tommaso Traetta" in Bitonto (Italy). In the same year she made her debut as soprano in Spoleto in the role of Mimì in La Bohème by G. Puccini and as Leonora in Il Trovatore (G. Verdi). In 2008 she made her debut at
"Incheon Opera Festival" (South Korea) in the role of Mimì in La Bohème by G. Puccini and she was Semifinalist of the Operalia Placido Domingo Competition in Montreal (Quebec, Canada); afterwards she made her debut in the role of Micaela in Carmen by G. Bizet at the Vittorio Emanuele Theatre of Messina. In 2009 she won both the First Prize and Public Prize of the 10th Spiros Argiris Competition in Sarzana (Italy). Afterwards she made her debut in the role of Desdemona in Otello (G.Verdi) together with Renato Bruson as Iago. After this debut she sang Desdemona in 2010 at Opera national de Lorraine (Nancy, France). In the same year she made her debut in the role of Odabella in Verdi's Attila at the Teatro Lauro Rossi in Macerata (Sferisterio Opera Festival) under the baton of Riccardo Frizza.

As Elena in I Vespri Siciliani

She has appeared at the Festival dei Due Mondi of Spoleto, at the Carnegie Hall of New York, the Union League of Philadelphia, the Festival Barokkimusiikkia of Helsinki, the Doha National Philarmonic (Qatar), the Hermitage Theatre of St. Petersburg, the Enescu Hall of Bucarest, the Sibiu Philarmonic Hall (Romania), the Baku Philarmonic Hall (Azerbaijan). In the last season she performed Odabella in Attila at Busseto Theater (Verdi Festival 2010) with great reviews from public and critics, and La Bohème at Sofia National Theatre. Recently she has performed with great success I Vespri Siciliani at Teatro Regio in Turin conducted by Gianandrea Noseda and Norma in Tel Aviv. Future engagements include: Gemma di Vergy at Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo, La Bohème at Arena di Verona and at Opera Bastille in Paris, Simon Boccanegra (new production) conducted by Maestro Thielemann in Dresden, Otello in Zurich, La Bohème in Valencia conducted by M° Chailly and in Seattle." [Source]