Denyce Graves

Denyce Graves (born March 7, 1964) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer.

Early life Graves was born on March 7, 1964, in Washington, D.C., to Charles Graves and Dorothy (Middleton) Graves-Kenner. She is the middle of three children and was raised by her mother on Galveston Street, S.W., in the Bellevue section of Washington. Despite Graves' shyness, her mother encouraged her to sing in church as a child. She took music lessons with Judith Allen, who took her to watch rehearsals of D.C.'s All City Chorus at Constitution Hall. At Oberlin, Graves experienced racist comments from people who believed opera was for white people, including a professor who told her "This is not a place for you." In one Sesame Street episode, she sang Elmo a lullaby based on "Habanera."

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. In 2005, she hosted the radio show Voce di Donna (Voice of a Lady) on Vox!, the vocal classical music channel of XM Satellite Radio, on which she interviewed various opera singers. Graves often was heard on The Tony Kornheiser Show radio program with her rendition of the "Mailbag Theme".

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.

In 2005, she sang the lead role in the world premiere of Margaret Garner, an opera by Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison.

In May 2010, Graves performed a concert with tenor Lawrence Brownlee in the United States Supreme Court Building for the Supreme Court justices.

On June 15, 2013, Graves sang in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard's and Michael Cristofer's boxing opera, Champion with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

In 2014, a recording of We Shall Overcome arranged by composer Nolan Williams, Jr. and featuring Graves was among several works of art, including the poem A Brave and Startling Truth by Maya Angelou, sent to space on the first test flight of the spacecraft Orion.

Graves marked Women's History Month in 2003, with Senator Hillary Clinton, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro. On September 25, 2020, Graves sang at the US Capitol as her friend Ruth Bader Ginsburg's casket was lying in state. Ginsburg was a devoted fan of opera.

In 2021, she performed at the Tulsa Opera in Greenwood Overcomes, which memorialized the Tulsa Race Massacre. The performance of December 10 was video-cast as part of the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series.

In 2025, Graves announced plans to retire from the stage. Her final appearance was on January 24, 2026, in the Metropolitan Opera's performance of Porgy and Bess. She played Maria, a supporting character.

In 2019, Graves received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Dr. Ben Carson.