Born in Naples, Maria Grazia Schiavo studied with Raffaele Passaro at the Naples Conservatory, graduating with honours. She won the First Prize at both the Santa Cecilia Competition in Rome and the International Singing Competition of Clermont-Ferrand. She made her stage debut in the title role of Roberto De Simone’s La Gatta Cenerentola which toured major theatres in Italy and abroad.
Her interpretations of the following roles have established her as one of the leading sopranos of her generation in the bel canto repertoire: the title role in Rossini’s Semiramide under Corrado Rovaris at the Opéra de Lausanne and under Christopher Franklin at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo; the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor in Turin, Naples and Rome; Gilda in Rigoletto at the Teatro Massimo Palermo, Valencia Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and at La Fenice in a production helmed by Daniele Callegari and Damiano Michieletto; Lisetta in La Gazetta for the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro with Carlo Rizzi conducting; Marie in Donizetti’s Fille du régiment in a Stefano Ranzani/Barbe & Doucet staging at La Fenice; La Contessa di Folleville in Il Viaggio a Reims at the Rome Opera; Norina in Don Pasquale under Alessandro De Marchi at the Teatro Regio di Torino.
Recently, Maria Grazia has performed Donna Anna in Don Giovanni conducted by Riccardo Muti and directed by Chiara Muti at Tokyo Bunka Kaikan and returned to the role at the Caracalla Festival of the Rome Opera.
Maria Grazia has brought her signature role of Violetta to Naples, Rome and Turin, and to La Fenice in Robert Carsen’s production of La Traviata, under the batons of the late Nello Santi and Stefano Ranzani.
Particularly fond of Mozart, Maria Grazia was Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Rome, Liège and Prague; Pamina in Die Zauberflöte in Bologna and Turin; Donna Anna in Turin, Liège, Rome and Palermo. Add to this Ilia in Idomeneo in a new Fabio Biondi/Jean-Louis Grinda production at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège.
Under the knowing hand of Riccardo Muti, Maria Grazia starred as Amital in Betulia liberata at the Salzburg Festival.
In other repertoire, her performances include Asteria in Tamerlano at La Scala with Diego Fasolis, Almirena in Rinaldo under Ottavio Dantone at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Dalinda in Ariodante at the Theater an der Wien and Olympia in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. She made her role debut as Liù in Turandot in a Donato Renzetti/Francesco Micheli production for the Caracalla Festival of the Rome Opera.
Under the guidance of Zubin Mehta, she performed as the soprano soloist in Hayden’s Paukenmesse at the Florence Opera and further appeared in concert with Riccardo Minasi at the Opernhaus Zürich. She also sang Mozart’s Mass in C minor at the Salzburg Mozarteum under Christophe Rousset.
She has issued several CDs with Naïve: Pulcinella vendicato by Paisiello, Statira Principessa di Persia by Cavalli and Coralità e Devotione by Provenzale. She has recorded Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Stéphanie d’Oustrac and Antonio Florio for the label Eloquentia, and features on the CD “Le Cantate Italiane di Handel” with la Risonanza released by Glossa. Maria Grazia’s first solo album “Furor!” with music by Spanish composer Terradellas achieved great critical acclaim.
Recent and future engagements include Rossini’s Stabat Mater under Speranza Scappucci at the MITO Festival, a new production helmed by Alessandro Cadario and Cecilia Ligorio of La Vita nuda (Rosinella) by Matteo D’Amico at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma as well as a return to Don Giovanni (Donna Anna) in a new Pier Luigi Pizzi staging for the opening night of the 2026/2027 season of the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste.
