About
Serbian-Croatian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Maria Milenic “displays a rich, full sound” (LudwigVan Toronto). Originally from Newmarket Ontario, Maria is a sought-out artist who has performed in Canada, Italy, Germany, and beyond. She is a current member of Calgary Opera’s McPhee Young Artist Development Program. Her season included singing the role of Cio Cio San’s Mother in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Mother/Grandmother in Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood, as well as Sandman in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. A University of Toronto alum, Maria holds a double major in both voice performance and French language studies. She is also a graduate from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory, having completed an Advanced Artist Diploma.
Maria is a multidisciplinary artist who is regularly involved in contemporary opera. One of her highlight roles includes Minskwoman in Dove’s Flight, performed on the Koerner Hall stage. She has been a featured artist in 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, during which she gave a “remarkable performance with weird outwardly sounds somewhere between singing and crying” (Operaramblings). Other stage highlights include Mrs. Splinters in Copland’s The Tender Land, Mrs. Mc.Lean in Floyd’s Susannah, Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, as Ljubica in Sokolović’s Svadba, Ada in Ivan Caryll’s The Shop Girl, Mrs. Hildebrand in Weil’s Street Scene, and Javotte in Massenet’s Manon.
Maria’s talent doesn’t go unnoticed. Last year, she was a finalist in the Homage to Maria Callas international competition and was a special prize award winner. In 2024, 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 Kindred Spirits Orchestra, the Arcady Ensemble, and the Untitled Ensemble. Maria is also 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 reflects her Serbian-Croatian cultural heritage. This past April, Maria performed with Christ in the Toronto Guitar Weekend Festival where they brought a contemporary Canadian piece commissioned by the Toronto Guitar Society to life.
Maria is always seeking opportunities to work with new composers in Canada. Just recently, she took part in the Opera from Scratch mini-opera program in Halifax, where she premiered Homa Samiei’s one-woman opera The Light Remains. In her pursuit of contributing to the new music collaborative process, Maria has had her own original poem titled Aisling set to music by composer Kevin Zi-Xiao He. This upcoming summer, she is looking forward to taking part in the 2026 Banff Opera Program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, as well as in the Highlands Opera Studio, where she will be singing the role of La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica.