MUSE • Musicians United for Social Equity

Biography

DIANA AMATI

Composer, Singer, Voice Teacher
Opera Culture News & Magazine
New York, New York

Diana Amati’s remarkable life resembles that of an opera itself. She has a unique Cinderella story- from being abandoned as an orphan to becoming a world-class opera singer and composer, traveling and using her voice and gifts to inspire and give hope to others. Diana celebrates being a woman of color in opera, being mixed and proud of her West African and Latina heritage. Diana grew up singing spirituals and gospel music in church and started her formal training when she was adopted by her parents and they discovered her gifts in music. Following in the old Italian tradition of belcanto training, she studied privately and intensively with some of the world’s greatest voice teachers and coaches of our time, including Italy’s most beloved vocal coach, Enza Ferrari (who also taught Maria Callas), and Maestro Alberto Zedda, who urged Diana to pursue a professional operatic career and was pivotal in her decision. Her most notable roles have been Beatrice in Bellini’s ‘Beatrice di Tenda,’ Stefanina in Donizetti’s ‘Il giovedì grasso,’ and Lucia in Donizetti’s ‘Lucia di Lammermoor.’ As a composer, Diana frequently gives recitals in churches and is creating an album of some of the most beloved negro spirituals and hymns for piano and voice, including a few of her own original spirituals. She is also the Founder of Opera Culture Magazine- which was specifically created to highlight and promote women of color in opera and to help them attain greater visibility and advancement in their professional careers.

www.dianaamati.com