Blind Injustice Reviews
"In her Cincinnati Opera debut as Nancy Smith, mezzo-soprano Maria Miller made a very strong impression, showing a warm lyric voice with an easy top."
Opera News
"The principals are top-notch, with mezzo-soprano Maria Miller dramatically and vocally memorable as Nancy Smith..."
Seen and Heard International
"...heartbreaking and inspirational performances..."
CityBeat Cincinnati
In the second part [of Handel's Messiah], the emotion of “Behold the lamb of God” was palpable, followed by the desolation conveyed by alto Maria Miller in the air, “He was despised and rejected of men.”
Cincinnati Business Courier
Mezzo-soprano Maria Miller is a proud native of Paducah, Kentucky. She makes her house debut at the Sarasota Opera as Lucilla in La scala di seta in fall 2021. Also in 2021, she was an Apprentice Artist at Des Moines Metro Opera, covering Mrs Lovett in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, and a Resident Artist at Sarasota Opera, covering The Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas.
With the Cincinnati Opera, she made her house debut as Nancy Smith in the world premiere of Blind Injustice, was part of Opera Fusion/New Works Workshops as Rumer in William Menefield’s Fierce and as Celeste in Gregory Spears’ Castor and Patience, served as core chorus for the 2017 and 2019 seasons, and is involved in year-round programming. She is a soloist with Opera on the James, the Hilton Head Symphony (Elijah), Collegium Cincinnati (Messiah, Bach B Minor Mass), Kentucky Symphony Orchestra (Vivaldi Gloria, Mozart Requiem) and May Festival (Bernstein MASS). She also attended the Crested Butte Music Festival: RISE Camp with her duo Opera in Overalls, whose mission is to create recitals using the principles of devised theatre.
Maria received an Encouragement Award at the MONC Southeast Regional Auditions in both 2019 and 2020, after winning the West Tennessee Districts for both years. She also received the Treigle Award in the 2019 Corbett Competition. Maria holds both a MMus and a BMus in Voice from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatoire of Music. She studied theatre education, dramaturgy and French at the University of Louisville, the Institute for American Universities in Aix-en-Provence and the University of Evansville.
She is currently a Studio Artist at Mascarade Opera Studio, Florence, Italy.
