<p>Jean-François Marras was born in Ajaccio and began studying music, traditional Corsican polyphony and guitar. At the age of sixteen he set his sights on opera singing and began studying with the baritone Jean-Paul Grisoni. In 2008, he entered the Conservatoire of the 12th arrondissement in Paris in the voice class of Didier Henry and the dramatic arts class of Carole Bergen. In October 2013, he joined the class of Chantal Mathias at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris. He sang numerous roles during his training, including Bénédict in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, Nadir in Bizet’s Pêcheurs de perles, the Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites and Prince Charming in Massenet’s Cinderella. His other stage roles include Hoffmann in Offenbach’s Contes d’Hoffmann and Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata. He sang the part of the solo tenor in Requiem (in both the Verdi and Mozart versions) with the Orchestre de Pau Pays de Béarn with Fayçal Karoui conducting. His roster of roles at the Paris Opera Academy include Lechmere in Britten’s Owen Wingrave, Momus and Lycurgue in Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Fêtes d’Hébé and the Poet in Philippe Boesmans’s Reigen. Jean-François Marras joined the Paris Opera Academy in September 2016.<br></p>