Brava, Denyce!

This season’s run of the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess marks the final stage appearances for acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, who will retire from performance following her portrayal of Maria. The Washington, D.C., native made her Met debut in 1995 in the title role of Carmen, and in addition to her 48 performances as Bizet’s irresistible heroine, Graves starred in nine roles with the company, including memorable turns as Dalila in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila and Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

In recent years, she appeared in the Met premieres of Nico Muhly’s Marnie and Kevin Puts’s The Hours, as well as being an integral part of the Grammy Award–winning cast of Porgy and Bess during the 2019–20 Met premiere of James Robinson’s production. Off stage, Graves has nurtured the next generation of singers as a faculty member at the Juilliard School and Peabody Conservatory, and as founder and artistic director of the Denyce Graves Foundation. “I always felt called to opera, and I received a lot of support from angels along the way,” Graves says. “Over 30 years at the Met, I’ve loved every moment.”

Take a look back at some of Graves’s most celebrated roles.

As the title character of Bizet’s Carmen

As Dalila in Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila

As Baba the Turk in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress

As Federica in Verdi’s Luisa Miller

As Marnie’s Mother in Nico Muhly’s Marnie, with Isabel Leonard

As Sally in Kevin Puts’s The Hours, with Kelli O’Hara and Renée Fleming