Italian-American pianist, coach, and conductor, Mario Antonio Marra currently serves as the Head of Music and Director of the Resident Artist Program at Minnesota Opera. He has served on the music staff at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and Oper Frankfurt, among others. Recent conducting credits include gala concerts with Opera San Antonio, CMI San Antonio, and Minnesota Opera’s production of Don Giovanni. Passionate in his work nurturing and coaching the next generation of singers and pianists, Marra has served on the faculties of numerous summer training programs including the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco where he returns for his fourth summer in 2025.
An active recitalist, he has recently performed with many of today's most sought-after singers, including Željko Lučić, Eric Owens, Quinn Kelsey, Ramón Vargas, David Leigh, and Stephanie Blythe. He has been presented at prestigious venues internationally, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Palazzo Davanzati in Florence, Oper Frankfurt, and the Civic Opera House in Chicago.
Lauded by the legendary Marilyn Horne for his "superb technique," Marra was a winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition at Music Academy where he was a fellow in 2013 and 2014. He is a graduate of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center young artist program at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. His mentors and teachers include Norma Verrilli, Marilyn Nonken, and Warren Jones.