Denyce Graves

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Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964 in Washington, D.C.) is an American opera singer.

Ms. Graves was raised in the city's Bellevue section, in a single-parent household. As a mezzo soprano, she began vocal training at the Duke Ellington School of Arts in Washington in the 1980s. She also studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory. She is an alumna of the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which provides further training and experience for young singers who are between their academic training and full-time professional careers.

She made her professional debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 and has appeared at many opera houses. Though her repertoire is extensive, her signature parts are the title roles in Carmen and Samson et Dalila. On January 20, 2005, she sang the patriotic song "American Anthem" during the 55th Presidential Inauguration, between the swearing-in ceremonies of Vice President Dick Cheney and President George W. Bush for their second terms in office.

Graves sang "America the Beautiful" and "Lord's Prayer" at the Washington National Cathedral during a memorial service honoring 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. Since 2005, she has hosted the radio show Voce di Donna (Voice of a Lady) on Vox!, the vocal classical music channel of XM Satellite Radio. Frequently, Graves can also be heard on The Tony Kornheiser Radio Show on 3WT, Washington D.C., with her rendition of the "Mailbag Theme".

She also performed the opera Werther with Andrea Bocelli for the Michigan Opera Theatre, the first opera broadcast on the Internet in its entirety in 1999. She is currently an industry panelist on American Idol Underground.

On January 2, 2007, Graves performed "The Lord's Prayer" at the state funeral for Gerald Ford at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Graves sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" as part of the pregame ceremonies inaugurating the Washington Nationals' new stadium, Nationals Park, on March 30, 2008.