Maria de Francesca-Cavazza is a German opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

tic soprano

Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...

 and voice teacher

Voice teacher

A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who trains adults and children in the art of singing. This generally involves training in breath control and support, proper tone production, pitch control and musical intonation, proper formation of vowels and consonants as well as...

. Raised in the United States, she is a graduate of the Sherwood Conservatory of Music at the Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago

Columbia College Chicago is one of the largest art colleges in the United States with nearly 12,000 students pursuing degrees within 120 undergraduate and graduate programs...

 where she was a pupil of Maria Hussa-Greve and Garvin Williamson. In 1961 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and...

. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Germany to pursue further studies at the Hochschule für Musik Köln

Hochschule für Musik Köln

The Cologne University of Music is a music college in Cologne, and Germany's largest academy of music.-History:The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln...

 with Margarete Düren. She made her professional opera debut in 1962 at the Cologne Opera

Cologne Opera

The Cologne Opera refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company.-History of the company:...

 in a minor role, and the following year performed her first leading role with that company as Tsaritsa Militrisa in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...

's The Tale of Tsar Saltan

The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Rimsky-Korsakov)

The Tale of Tsar Saltan is an opera in four acts with a prologue, seven scenes, by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by Vladimir Belsky, and is based on the poem of the same name by Aleksandr Pushkin...

. She then appeared as a leading soprano at several German opera house

Opera house

An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...

s, working as a member of the Opernhaus Wuppertal

Opernhaus Wuppertal

Opernhaus Wuppertal is a theatre in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany....

 (1964-1965), the Kiel Opera House

Kiel Opera House

The Peabody Opera House is a civic performing arts building in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded as the Kiel Opera House, it opened it 1934 and operated until 1991, when it and the adjacent Kiel Auditorium were closed so the auditorium could be demolished and replaced by the Scottrade Center...

 (1965-1967), the Staatsoper Nürnberg (1967-1976), and the Staatsoper Stuttgart

Staatsoper Stuttgart

The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe...

 (1976-1986). As a guest artist she has made appearances at the Bavarian State Opera

Bavarian State Opera

The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...

, the Bayreuth Festival

Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...

 and the Vienna State Opera

Vienna State Opera

The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

, among others. She can be heard and seen in the role of the Tochter in Hindemith's opera "Cardillac", conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch

Wolfgang Sawallisch

Wolfgang Sawallisch is a retired German conductor and pianist.-Biography:Sawallisch was born in Munich, and studied composition and pianoforte there privately: at the conclusion of the war, in 1946 he continued his studies at the Munich High School for Music and passed his final examination for...

, on a 1985 Munich DVD issued by Deutsche Grammophon. De Francesca-Cavazza has taught on the music faculties of conservatories in Munich and Nuremberg.