Maria comes from a Polish/Irish background and spent her formative years in Manchester. Singing was an important part of her childhood both at home and at school but she was also a very keen dancer and began dance training at the age of four. Her first professional engagement was appearing in Aladdin with Coronation Street stars Ann Kirkbride and Barbara Knox. It was after this experience that she decided to start singing lessons at the Manchester School of Music with John Grierson. John was very encouraging and arranged a consultation with the late Dame Isobel Bailey who advised her to audition for a music conservatoire.
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At eighteen, Maria started as an undergraduate at the Royal Northern College of Music where her teachers were Joseph Ward, Audrey Langford and Sheila Barlow. On graduating she was awarded The Ricordi Prize for Opera, which enabled her to continue her studies at the college as a postgraduate. She was lucky enough to be given several major roles in the college operas and after a performance of Flosshilde in Das Rheingold was asked to appear in Die Fledermaus and Il Seraglio with English National Opera. It was whilst performing with ENO that she was invited to audition for the newly formed English National Opera North (which subsequently became Opera North) .She spent the next three years singing minor roles and understudying the major mezzo-soprano roles for the company before being accepted by the National Opera Studio for her final year of study. Whilst at the studio she worked with Dame Janet Baker, the late George Solti, Martin Isepp and Tito Gobbi. At the time her singing teacher was the late Esther Salaman Hamburger whose book Unlocking the Voice is still used as one of the best books written on the Bel Canto method of singing.
On completing her studies Maria was given the title role in the Offenbach Operetta Les Brigands, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival. Since then she has sung with many leading opera companies including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Scottish Opera, Sadlers Wells Operetta Company, Longborough Festival Opera, Opera Project and Opera Northern Ireland. Abroad she has appeared with Opera de Lyon, Montpellier Opera, Lisbon Opera, Singapore Lyric Opera, Royal Opera House Valletta and the Royal Danish Opera House.
Her major roles include Carmen, Lazuli (L’Etoile), Hansel, (Hansel and Gretel), Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro) Dorabella (Cosi Fan Tutte), Rosina (Barber of Seville) Nicklaus (Tales of Hoffmann) Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges), Miss Benson (Of Thee I Sing) Pitti Sing (Mikado) and Dmitri (Fedora) and most recently Madam Armfeldt (A Little Night Music).
As well as working with some of the worlds leading conductors and coaches she has sung with Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Carlos Alvarez, Mirella Freni, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Lesley Garrett.
As well as working in the opera and the theatre, she also has considerable experience as a concert artist. As a young singer she was taken on by the “Live Music Now” scheme started by Yehudi Menuhin. This scheme gives artists the opportunity to meet and work with accompanists and instrumentalists and perform in concert in every kind of situation. It also stresses the importance of speaking to your audience and planning programmes which are suitable for their needs and wants. She has performed in recitals and concerts all over the country and her liaisons with classical guitarists Peter Bachelor and Ken Heggie led to a national tour consisting of Spanish and contemporary music.
Working with musicians and conductors from different genres enabled her to be a very versatile artist, happy to be singing different styles of music to audiences from all walks of life. Her concert schedule now takes her all over the UK and Europe. Variety is the spice of life and she is happy to perform in both opera and solo recitals as well as working with choral societies and male voice choirs. Appearances include opera concerts at The Royal Festival Hall, The Barbican and The Royal Albert Hall.
She is a regular guest artist with classic F.M. presenters Nick Bailey and John Brunning for Music Festival At Sea and has performed with Dame Felicity Lott, Wynne Evans, Mark Evans and Janis Kelly. Since her time at the RNCM she has worked and performed with the conductor and vocal coach Robert Dean and their solo recital “Tell Me the truth About Love “is very popular with both critics and audiences alike.
Maria’s other passion is passing on her expertise to young talented singers. She became artistic director of MJ.UK in 2006 giving these singers the opportunity to work with professional directors and musicians to put on full-scale musicals, operas and concerts. Together with these young singers the company regular perform in the Cotswolds and Cornwall and has raised thousands of pounds for local charities.
Earlier this year the Silurian Consort made her their honorary chairman because of her contribution to music in the Cotswolds.
On completing her studies Maria was given the title role in the Offenbach Operetta Les Brigands, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival. Since then she has sung with many leading opera companies including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera. Scottish Opera, Sadlers Wells Operetta Company, Longborough Festival Opera, Opera Project and Opera Northern Ireland. Abroad she has appeared with Opera de Lyon, Montpellier Opera, Lisbon Opera, Singapore Lyric Opera, Royal Opera House Valletta and the Royal Danish Opera House.
Her major roles include Carmen, Lazuli (L’Etoile), Hansel, (Hansel and Gretel), Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro) Dorabella (Cosi Fan Tutte), Rosina (Barber of Seville) Nicklaus (Tales of Hoffmann) Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Smeraldina (Love for Three Oranges), Miss Benson (Of Thee I Sing) Pitti Sing (Mikado) and Dmitri (Fedora) and most recently Madam Armfeldt (A Little Night Music).
As well as working with some of the worlds leading conductors and coaches she has sung with Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Carlos Alvarez, Mirella Freni, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and Lesley Garrett.
As well as working in the opera and the theatre, she also has considerable experience as a concert artist. As a young singer she was taken on by the “Live Music Now” scheme started by Yehudi Menuhin. This scheme gives artists the opportunity to meet and work with accompanists and instrumentalists and perform in concert in every kind of situation. It also stresses the importance of speaking to your audience and planning programmes which are suitable for their needs and wants. She has performed in recitals and concerts all over the country and her liaisons with classical guitarists Peter Bachelor and Ken Heggie led to a national tour consisting of Spanish and contemporary music.
Working with musicians and conductors from different genres enabled her to be a very versatile artist, happy to be singing different styles of music to audiences from all walks of life. Her concert schedule now takes her all over the UK and Europe. Variety is the spice of life and she is happy to perform in both opera and solo recitals as well as working with choral societies and male voice choirs. Appearances include opera concerts at The Royal Festival Hall, The Barbican and The Royal Albert Hall.
She is a regular guest artist with classic F.M. presenters Nick Bailey and John Brunning for Music Festival At Sea and has performed with Dame Felicity Lott, Wynne Evans, Mark Evans and Janis Kelly. Since her time at the RNCM she has worked and performed with the conductor and vocal coach Robert Dean and their solo recital “Tell Me the truth About Love “is very popular with both critics and audiences alike.
Maria’s other passion is passing on her expertise to young talented singers. She became artistic director of MJ.UK in 2006 giving these singers the opportunity to work with professional directors and musicians to put on full-scale musicals, operas and concerts. Together with these young singers the company regular perform in the Cotswolds and Cornwall and has raised thousands of pounds for local charities.
Earlier this year the Silurian Consort made her their honorary chairman because of her contribution to music in the Cotswolds.