Maria Todaro assumed the role of General Director of Florida Grand Opera in Fall 2023, bringing three decades of distinguished international experience as an arts administrator, stage director, conductor, librettist, and mezzo-soprano. A citizen of the United States, France, and Italy, and fluent in five languages, she has helmed 23 opera productions across the globe. In 2009, she co-founded the Hudson Valley International Festival of The Voice, where she pioneered the nation’s first drive-in opera performance amid the COVID-19 pandemic and pioneered the integration of virtual reality into a reimagined production of Tosca. A passionate advocate for opera’s capacity to illuminate pressing social issues — from human trafficking to women’s empowerment — Todaro carries forward a legacy of musical distinction spanning three generations, and is married to celebrated baritone Louis Otey.