Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Marie McManama has been praised for “her especially delightful rich voice” (Isthmus, 2015) and has been seen on stages across the country.  As the soprano studio artist with Madison Opera’s 2015-2016 season she covered Musetta in La Bohème, sang in the solo quartet and covered Beth in Little Women, and covered the Four Heroines in Les contes d’Hoffmann.  During that same season she toured the midwest singing Queen of the Night with Opera for the Young’s production of The Magic Flute.  She has worked with Cincinnati Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, the St. Louis Symphony, St. Louis Muny, San Francisco Festival Chorus, Grant Park Music Festival, Grand Teton Music Festival, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, Peninsula Music Festival, and SongFest in Malibu, California.

Marie is a founding member of the Madison Choral Project and has sung as a soloist with Madison Opera, Opera for the Young, Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, Four Seasons Theatre, Middleton Players Theater, and the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County. She has worked extensively as a choral soloist, performing such works as Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, Schubert’s Mass in Ab Major, and Fauré’s Requiem.  Solo highlights with the Madison Choral Project include MacMillan’s Te Deum, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Handel’s coronation anthem My Heart is Abiding, along with several other works. 

As an active musical theatre performer, she most recently played Franca in The Light in the Piazza.  She performed the role of Kristine in A Chorus Line with Middleton Players Theater and danced as a Hot Box girl in Guys and Dolls with Four Seasons Theater.  In her performance as Julie Jordan in Carousel she “confidently filled the auditorium with her voice, bringing the energy and never letting go.” (Madison Magazine, 2015)

Marie earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in voice performance from the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) un the studios of Bill McGraw and Gwen Coleman Detwiler..  While completing her master's she also earned a second bachelor's in music education.  She recently received a grant for an intensive study of Orff Schulwerk at DePaul University and won a scholarship from the Wisconsin Music Educators Association for excellence in teaching.  In 2018 she joined the artistic staff of the Madison Youth Choirs.