Maia Sumanaweera is a soprano based in New York City who takes inspiration from the nostalgia and storytelling of opera. She is delighted to make her debut as Norina in Don Pasquale with Mediterranean Opera Studio and Festival in July 2026.
Recent performance credits include the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Classic Lyric Arts, as well as Poppea in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, La princesse in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, and Linfea in La Calisto with Mannes Opera.
Scene work includes Amina in La sonnambula, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Suzel in L’amico Fritz with Classic Lyric Arts. Maia is a recipient of the Encouragement Award in the Washington District Round of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She recently made her debut with Brooklyn Art Song Society for Cycles IV: Janáček and Schoenberg in 2026.
In addition to her operatic repertoire, Maia sang with ensembles for eleven years. In 2024, she made her debut with GRAMMY®-nominated vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire, and performed with them again during their 2025/2026 season. In 2019, she performed in the chorus with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on the GRAMMY® award-winning recording of Richard Danielpour’s oratorio The Passion of Yeshua.
Maia is a graduate of the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the Mannes School of Music. Outside of her performing career, Maia is an enthusiastic arts administrator, serving as Assistant Manager of Development for Classic Lyric Arts and as Social Media Manager for the Kurt Weill Foundation. In her spare time, she loves cooking, floral arranging, watching period dramas, traveling to beautiful places, and spending time at home with friends and family.
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