Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middl ...

opera singer.

Early life

Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington. She graduated from the

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syst ...

in 1981. Graves studied voice at the

Oberlin Conservatory of Music The Oberlin Conservatory of Music is a private music conservatory in Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. It was founded in 1865 and is the second oldest conservatory and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States. It is one of ...

and the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music Music school, conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The ...

with Helen Hodam. She worked at the

Wolf Trap Opera Company The Wolf Trap Opera Company (sometimes abbreviated WTOC) was founded in 1971 as part of the program of the Wolf Trap Foundation located near the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Fairfax County, Virginia. The company is a residen ...

, which provides further training and experience for young singers who are between their academic training and full-time professional careers. Soon after, she was invited by

David Gockley David Gockley (born July 13, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American opera company administrator. He served as general director of Houston Grand Opera from 1972 to 2005 and San Francisco Opera from 2006 to 2016. He is a student of Margare ...

to participate in the Houston Opera Studio, from 1988 to 1990, where she studied with Elena Nikolaidi.

Career

She made her debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

in 1995 and has appeared at many opera houses. Though her repertoire is extensive, her signature parts are the title roles in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the ...

'' and ''

Samson et Dalila ''Samson and Delilah'' (french: Samson et Dalila, links=no), Op. 47, is a grand opera in three acts and four scenes by Camille Saint-Saëns to a French libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. It was first performed in Weimar at the (Grand Ducal) Theater ( ...

''. Graves also made many appearances on the children's television series, "Between the Lions" where she used her talents to teach children sounds of words. On January 20, 2005, she sang the patriotic song "American Anthem" during the 55th Presidential

Inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

, between the swearing-in ceremonies of Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...

and President George W. Bush for their second terms in office. Graves sang "

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is a patriotic American song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. The two neve ...

" and "

The Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

" at the

Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

during a memorial service for the victims of 9/11 on September 14, 2001, attended by President Bush, members of Congress, other politicians and representatives of foreign governments. In 2003, Graves performed in front of a live audience at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia for a television special, ''Denyce Graves: Breaking the Rules''. In 2005, she hosted the radio show ''Voce di Donna'' (''Voice of a Lady'') on Vox!, the vocal classical music channel of

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM, Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable televisi ...

, on which she interviewed various opera singers. Graves often was heard on '' The Tony Kornheiser Show'' radio program with her rendition of the "Mailbag Theme". In 2005, she sang the lead role in the world premiere of ''

Margaret Garner Margaret Garner, called "Peggy" (died 1858), was an enslaved African-American woman in pre-Civil War America who killed her own daughter rather than allow the child to be returned to slavery. Garner and her family had escaped enslavement in J ...

'', an opera by Richard Danielpour and

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, '' The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' S ...

In May 2010, Graves performed a concert with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the

United States Supreme Court Building The Supreme Court Building houses the Supreme Court of the United States. Also referred to as "The Marble Palace," the building serves as the official workplace of the chief justice of the United States and the eight associate justices of th ...

for the Supreme Court justices. On June 15, 2013, Graves sang in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard's and

Michael Cristofer Michael Cristofer (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor, playwright and filmmaker. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for '' The Shadow Box'' in 1977. From 2015 to 2019, he played the role of Phillip ...

's boxing opera, ''

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

'' with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In 2014, a recording of '' We Shall Overcome'' arranged by composer Nolan Williams, Jr. and featuring Graves was among several works of art, including the poem '' A Brave and Startling Truth'' by

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

, sent to space on the first test flight of the spacecraft Orion. Pelosi clinton graves ferraro

On September 25, 2020, Graves sang at the US Capitol as her friend

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by Presiden ...

's casket was lying in state. Ginsburg was a devoted fan of opera. On November 22, 2022, she sang the role of Sally in the stage premiere of Kevin Puts's opera '' The Hours'' at the Metropolitan Opera. The performance of December 10 was video-cast as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series.

Personal life

*First husband (1990-2006) - David Perry (born 1950), a classical guitarist and operatic singer who also became her business partner. **Daughter Ella (born 2004) *Second husband (since September 2009) - Robert Montgomery, transplant surgeon.

Recognition

In 2017, Graves was honored by The Washington Performing Arts with the Ambassador of the Arts Award. In 2019, Graves received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

presented by Awards Council member Dr. Ben Carson.

References

External links

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archived
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Denyce 1964 births 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers American operatic mezzo-sopranos Living people New England Conservatory alumni Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni People from Bethesda, Maryland Singers from Maryland Singers from Washington, D.C. Classical musicians from Washington, D.C. Voice teachers Women music educators People from Bellevue (Washington, D.C.) African-American women opera singers