BIOGRAPHY

Maël Graa is a Swiss tenor whose musical journey began at an early age at the Lausanne Conservatory. Under the guidance of Stephanie Burkhardt, he took his first steps on stage by performing the title role in Benjamin Britten’s The Little Sweep in 2007. This early debut marked the start of a deep connection with the stage and vocal performance.

He quickly gained experience through numerous productions in Switzerland and abroad, appearing in operas such as La Bohème, Carmen (2008), and The Magic Flute (Erste Knabe, 2010). As a member of the Lausanne Conservatory Vocal Ensemble (Les Vocalistes), he refined his choral skills under conductors Henri Farge and Philippe Huttenlocher.

Maël has always embraced a wide artistic spectrum. Alongside his operatic pursuits, he performed in musical theatre – notably as Gavroche in Les Misérables (Lausanne, 2009) – and held lead roles in original productions like La Fête du Blé et du Pain (2008), Je ne sais pas (2010), and L’Enfant et la nuit (2011). From 2012 to 2016, he expanded his musical vocabulary by studying jazz and improvisation (voice and flute) at the Lausanne School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (EJMA).

A dedicated academic as well, Maël obtained a Master’s degree in History and Latin from the University of Lausanne (2021), after graduating from a special high school program for elite young artists and athletes. During this time, he also trained with tenor Stuart Patterson.

His musical curiosity spans early to contemporary music. He regularly performs in repertoires from Monteverdi, Schütz, Bach, Händel, and Purcell to modern composers such as Schnyder, Matre, Henze, Flury, Kagel, and Zwahlen.

In 2023, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Singing from the Haute École de Musique in Neuchâtel, studying with Jeanne Roth and Susanne Schimmack, and collaborating with renowned conductors such as Stephan MacLeod and Leonardo García Alarcón. In 2025, he achieved a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at the Haute École de Musique in Lausanne with baritone Jean-François Rouchon.

Maël is an active performer in several prestigious ensembles, including the Académie vocale de Suisse romande, Ensemble Orlando, Schweizer Vocalconsort, the choruses of the Lausanne Opera and Geneva’s Grand Théâtre, and the Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne, where he occasionally performs as a soloist.