Matching “steely vocalism with lyricism and pathos” (The Financial Times) while being “capable of total relinquishing” and boasting “glistening high notes” (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), María José Siri figures among today's leading sopranos in a repertoire comprising many of Verdi's and Puccini's title heroines as well as iconic Verismo roles.
Ms Siri rose to international fame when triumphing in the inauguration of the Teatro alla Scala's 2016/2017 season, making her debut in the title role of "Madama Butterfly" conducted by Riccardo Chailly. She immediately became one of the most requested interpreters of the role of Cio-Cio-San, taking the Japanese Geisha to many of the world's most prestigious opera houses, such as the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera Munich and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Among her other recent successes figure the title role of a new production of "Francesca da Rimini" under the baton of Fabio Luisi and "Messa per Rossini" led by Riccardo Chailly at the Teatro alla Scala, Leonora in "Il trovatore" at the Vienna State Opera, Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera" at the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Elisabetta di Valois in "Don Carlo" at the Palau de les Arts of Valencia and the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, the title part of "Aida" at the Arena of Verona, the title role of "Manon Lescaut" at the Teatro Regio of Turin, Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Grand Théâtre of Geneva, "Tosca" at the Semperoper Dresden and Deutsche Oper Berlin, "Madama Butterfly" at the Macerata Opera Festival, Maddalena di Coigny in "Andrea Chénier" at the Teatro dell'Opera of Rome and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Verdi's "Messa da Requiem" on tour with La Scala and Riccardo Chailly at the Bol'šoj Theatre of Moscow, with the Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by Marek Janowski at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall and at the Teatro del Maggio in Florence led by Myung-Whun Chung.
Engagements of the 2018/19 season include Odabella in a new staging of "Attila" conducted by Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Teatro Regio of Parma (Verdi Festival 2018), the title role of "Manon Lescaut" at the Hamburg State Opera, Maddalena di Coigny in "Andrea Chénier" and the title role of "Manon Lescaut" at the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, the title role of "Madama Butterfly" at the Royal Opera House Muscat, the title role of "Manon Lescaut" in a new production conducted by Riccardo Chailly at La Scala and Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera" at the Mai Festival of Wiesbaden.
The Uruguayan soprano began her vocal studies at the ENAL Montevideo, completing them at the Paris Conservatory and with Ileana Cotrubas in Nizza and Vienna. Ms Siri performed her first operatic roles on the stages of her native country and in Argentina, making her career breakthrough in Europe in 2008 as Leonora in "Il trovatore" at the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa under the musical direction of Bruno Bartoletti.
Engagements since then have led her to the most prestigious opera theatres and festivals worldwide, including the Teatro alla Scala (title role of "Aida" conducted by Daniel Barenboim), the Vienna State Opera ("Tosca" and Maddalena di Coigny in "Andrea Chénier"), the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona (Mimì in "La bohème"), the Berlin State Opera (Tatiana in "Evgenij Onegin" and "Tosca"), the Deutsche Oper Berlin ("Tosca"), La Monnaie Brussels (Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera"), the New National Theatre Tokyo ("Tosca" and "Andrea Chénier"), the Palau de les Arts Valencia ("Manon Lescaut" conducted by Plácido Domingo, "Aida"), the ABAO Bilbao (Elisabeth de Valois in the French version of "Don Carlos"), the Teatro Comunale of Bologna (Leonora in "Il trovatore", Amelia in "Un ballo in maschera" and Odabella in "Attila" conducted by Michele Mariotti), the Teatro Regio Turin ("Tosca", "Andrea Chénier", Amelia in "Simon Boccanegra" and Desdemona in "Otello" conducted by Gianandrea Noseda), the Teatro San Carlo of Naples (Mimì in "La bohème" and the title role of "Suor Angelica"), the Maggio Musicale Florence ("Aida"), the Teatro La Fenice Venice ("Il trovatore"), the Monte-Carlo Opera (Nedda in "Pagliacci" conducted by Pinchas Steinberg), the Hamburg State Opera ("Aida"), the Semperoper Dresden (Mimì in "La bohème"), the Mikhailovsky Theatre Saint Petersburg (Rachel in "La Juive"), the Bregenz Festival ("Aida" and "Andrea Chénier"), the Macerata Opera Festival ("Norma") and the Arena of Verona ("Aida" in three different stagings every season since 2013, Donna Elvira in "Don Giovanni").
Maria José Siri is the recipient of 2017 Oscar della Lirica in the category Best Soprano.