Maria Whitcomb

Hailing from New York State’s Catskill Mountain Region, soprano Maria Whitcomb is new to Boston’s rich musical community. For her upcoming debut with the newly launched company Voice of Iris, Whitcomb will portray all six wives of Henry VIII in a staged production of Libby Larsen’s epic song cycle “Try Me, Good King”. The 2025-2026 season also holds numerous collaborations with Newton’s Commonwealth Chorale as a part of their 50th Anniversary season. Whitcomb will feature as a soloist for Lilli Boulanger’s Pie Jesu, Mozart’s Requiem and José Nunes Garcia’s Laudate Pueri.

Maria currently performs with Lilith Vocal Ensemble and MetroWest Chamber Players, and has enjoyed close collaborations with local composers David Owens and Bruno Faria. The title role in Bruno Faria's 2019 chamber opera Voices Followed: The Illumination of Joan of Arc, was written especially for her, and he later composed the Christina Rossetti song cycle, “Sing-Song” in memory of her late father, Benjamin Whitcomb III. This work received its world premiere in a sold-out recital at the Boston Athenaeum in December 2023.

The latter part of Maria’s 2023-2024 season was spent in preparation to cover Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Hudson Valley Voice Festival. In the 2022-2023 season, she performed two works by Gian Carlo Menotti; the title role in Amahl and the Night Visitors, (Music On Site, Inc.) and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief (Queens Summer Vocal Institute). Her opera career began with Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, appearing as a Young Artist in masterclasses, and in the ensembles of their lauded productions of La bohème, Carmen, and many more. She studied at Syracuse University under the tutelage of Janet Brown, where her operatic credits included Adele (Die Fledermaus), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). In addition to her studies, Whitcomb also appeared with Syracuse Opera in various chorus and comprimario roles. She also appeared courtesy of Civic Morning Musicals, winning the 2016 American Song Prize in their annual competition, and presenting a recital in 2018. Maria completed her graduate work in opera at Longy School of Music of Bard College, with Jayne West, and she currently studies with Dana Lynne Varga and Mark Lee.