A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Maria Spacagna has sung with the Dallas Opera, the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Bavarian State Opera, the Deutsche Opera in Berlin, and at La Scala, where she made her debut in the title role of Madame Butterfly, the first American ever to perform the role there. She has also sung the role at the Metropolitan Opera and in Berlin and Cologne. Additionally, she has sung the part of Liu in Puccini's Turandot at the Met. Her other notable roles include the title part in Verdi's Luisa Miller and Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, which she has also sung at the Met. Spacagna has also performed recitals. Her most notable recording to date is the Vox Records recording of Madame Butterfly, the first recording to incorporate all of the music that Puccini wrote, and all of his emendations, an hour more of music than had ever previously been recorded. She has also appeared on the world premiere recordings of Cilea's L'Arlesiana and Mascagni's Lodoletta, both, like the Butterfly, conducted by Charles Rosekrans. ~ Bruce Eder Puccini Madame Butterfly (Vox Records) [8]