Canadian mezzo-soprano Maria Milenic is an up-and-coming artist who “displays a rich, full sound” - LudwigVan Toronto.
Originally from Newmarket Ontario, Maria has established a strong musical presence in Toronto, Canada. She is an alum of the University of Toronto, where she studied Voice Performance, as well French Language Arts. She also holds an Advanced Artist Diploma in Voice and Opera studies from the Glenn Gould School. Throughout her training, she has had the privilege of participating in masterclasses with prestigious artists, including; Warren Jones, Joyce El-Khoury, Russel Braun, and Michelle Breedt.
Maria’s voice thrives in contemporary opera, which she proved in her performance as Minskwoman in Dove’s opera Flight, featured on the Koerner Hall stage. She has also taken a part of the 21C Festival, where she had the honour of premiering Chaya Czernowin’s piece The Habekhi (The Crying), written for mezzo-soprano, ensemble, and electronics, and gave a “remarkable performance with weird outwardly sounds somewhere between singing and crying” - Operaramblings.
Maria made her international debut in Germany as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (Berlin Opera Academy). Other stage highlights include: Mrs. Mc.Lean in Floyd’s Susannah (Toronto City Opera) , Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen (Toronto City Opera), Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (Saluzzo Opera), Ljubica in Ana Sokolovic’s Svadba (The Glenn Gould School), Ada in Ivan Caryll’s The Shop Girl (COSA), and Mrs. Hildebrand in Weil’s Street Scene (University of Toronto), among others.
Maria’s talent doesn’t go unnoticed – this past season, she was the first-place prize winner in the OMFA provincials in the open voice category for singers aged under 28 in Ontario. Apart from opera engagements, she has been a featured soloist with the York Symphony Orchestra, the Arcady Ensemble, and is also a part of a voice-guitar duo entitled MileBib, with classical guitarist, Christ Habib. The two enjoy performing early music transcribed for voice and guitar together, as well as Slavic art-song, which is part of her cultural heritage and which she holds close to her heart.
