Maria José Siri has been recognized as one of the most important sopranos on the international operatic scene. With a repertoire spanning from Belcanto to Verismo, she has distinguished herself as an acclaimed interpreter of the most famous heroines of Verdi and Puccini. “Capable of total abandon” with “brilliant high notes” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), combined with a “steel voice with lyricism and pathos” (The Financial Times), she is considered “a reference artist, not just for her lush voice quality but also for her tone production that recalls the full and round sound of Tebaldi” (Opera Áctual).
Uruguayan-born and of Italian origin, she began studying music at a very young age, then went on to study at the Paris Conservatoire and later with Ileana Cotrubaș. She made her European debut in 2008 as Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Teatro “Carlo Felice” in Genoa and subsequently as Aida at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (2009).
Maria's career has developed rapidly since then, especially since 2016, when she opened La Scala's season as Madama Butterfly (Decca), in its original version. She shot to stardom in 2017, when she won the prestigious “Oscar della Lirica” International Opera Award. She performed the role of Aida once again at La Scala (2015), followed by the new productions of Francesca da Rimini (2018) and Manon Lescaut (2019). Moreover, she was the first soprano to perform the complete Messa per Rossini (2017, Decca) in Italy.
She has an extensive relationship with the most important Italian theatres and has established an abiding connection with the major theatres in the world. With a triumphant return on a recent tour in Colombia, San Salvador and Venezuela, she took part in several gala evenings alongside Plácido Domingo, including a Zarzuela concert at the famous Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
A significant collaboration with the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has brought her to perform in many productions as well as to appear in several DVD recordings in the roles of Adriana Lecouvreur (Naxos), Suor Angelica/Giorgetta (Dynamic), Abigaille (Maggio Live), Lucrezia Contarini (Dynamic) and Elvira (Dynamic).
In the Arenian temple of music, where the internationally renowned Summer Festival takes place, Siri took part in numerous gala evenings and performed various roles such as Donna Elvira (2015, DVD/Blu-ray CMajor), Nedda/Santuzza and Lady Macbeth. More recently, she sang Abigaille, Madama Butterfly and, of course, her beloved role of Aida, which she has performed in Europe, Asia, South America and even in front of the Pyramids of Giza.
Amongst her most beloved roles, it is worth recalling Odabella, the warrior, a role she first performed at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (2016, DVD Cmajor), at the Teatro Regio di Parma (2018) and at the world-renowned Royal Opera House in London (2022).
Another important recent debut saw her perform alongside the great Plácido Domingo at the prestigious Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.
Her performances as Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona (2023), Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (2024), and Abigaille, both at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste and in her debut at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, have earned her widespread acclaim.
A true triumph came with her portrayal of Elisabetta di Valois in Don Carlo, in the production that opened the 2023-2024 season at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. There, she “wove an immaculate singing line” (Il Trillo Parlante), managing “to give us a moving and superbly sung fourth act with floating piani and high notes” (Rauchenwald-classic.com).
Following acclaimed debuts at Torre del Lago as Manon Lescaut and at Sofia Opera and Ballet as Tosca (2025), in 2026 she returned to the role of Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi in Salerno, before taking on the role of Aida at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. These performances brought her tremendous success with both audiences and critics.
This summer, her acclaimed appearances at the Arena di Verona as Aida and Abigaille marked one of the crowning achievements of her international career. On 4 September, at the Arena itself, Maria José Siri celebrated her 200th performance as Aida, reaching an extraordinary artistic milestone in the role that, more than any other, has defined her career and which, over the years, has become one of her most emblematic portrayals. This landmark further enhanced her standing and affirmed her place among the leading interpreters on the international operatic stage.
October 2026
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