Marie France Koua
Close-up of Marie France Koua

Soprano · Montréal · Côte d’Ivoire

Marie France Koua

I am a voice, a presence, an emotion. Trained in the rigour of the lyric art, I make every note resonate like an offering. Between tradition and intensity, I tell, I feel, I live. Welcome to my world, where every breath becomes music and every silence a promise of wonder.

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Éclosion recital poster

Upcoming

Residency recital

Éclosion

Thursday 12 November 2026 · 7:30 pm

Carrefour culturel de Notre-Dame-des-Prairies · Free admission

With Julien LeBlanc, piano. Works by Debussy, Strauss, Duparc, Bizet, Hahn and Donizetti. Free admission.

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Marie France Koua seated in an armchair

About

« I dream that every note I sing may be a balm for the soul, a hand held out to those seeking a breath of beauty, peace and hope. »

Marie France Koua is a soprano from Côte d’Ivoire based in Montréal. She first built a career in Human Resources before answering the call of singing. Six years ago she said “yes” to music: initially self-taught, she went on to train in Côte d’Ivoire, in France and at the Université de Montréal, where she earned a Master’s in classical voice performance in 2026.

In 2022 she was a semi-finalist in the Africa Lyric’s Opera competition in Paris. In 2023 she sang Despina (Così fan tutte) with orchestra in “Mozart en Italie” at the Opéra de Bordeaux, conducted by R. Gatto. At the Université de Montréal she appeared as a soloist in the Atelier lyrique opera gala (“Placido è il mar”, Idomeneo), sang the Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel and gave her mid-Master’s recital (Gluck, Berlioz, Fauré, Fortier, Liszt, Strauss) at Salle Serge-Garant in 2025. She was also selected to perform at Le Pub Classique de Montréal.

In 2026 she won the Gold Prize (93.5%) in the Provincial Soloist category of the 63rd Lanaudière Classical Music Festival and Competition, along with a Special Prize: a creative residency followed by a recital at the Carrefour culturel de Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, “Éclosion”, on 12 November 2026.

Receiving the Gold Prize in Lanaudière

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Career highlights

Recital at Salle Serge-Garant

Repertoire

Despina

Così fan tutte, Mozart

Dew Fairy

Hänsel und Gretel, Humperdinck

W. A. Mozart
“Placido è il mar” (Idomeneo) · Così fan tutte (Despina)
G. Donizetti
“Prendi, per me sei libero” (L’elisir d’amore)
G. Puccini
Airs d’opéra / opera arias
C. Debussy
Nuit d’étoiles · Fantoches
R. Strauss
Die Nacht · Zueignung
H. Duparc
Chanson triste · L’invitation au voyage
G. Bizet
Adieux de l’hôtesse arabe · Guitare
R. Hahn
Le rossignol des lilas · Quand je fus pris au pavillon
C. W. Gluck · H. Berlioz · G. Fauré · F. Liszt
Récital de mi-maîtrise, 2025
E. Humperdinck
Hänsel und Gretel (Taumännchen)

Gallery

Marie France Koua seated in an armchair
Marie France Koua seated in an armchair
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Press & presenters

Biographies, high-resolution photos and key facts, ready to use.

Press kit

Get in touch

I am available for solo performances, recitals, concerts, opera, musical theatre and artistic collaborations. Feel free to get in touch to book a performance.

mariefrancekoua@gmail.com

(+1) 514 578-6244

2026 · Université de Montréal

Master’s in classical voice performance

Graduation at the Université de Montréal

My dearest Marie France,

Six years ago… who would have thought that slightly crazy “YES” to music would take you this far?

Self-taught at first, then trained from Côte d’Ivoire to France and on to the Université de Montréal, your VOICE gradually became your PATH. A career change, and above all years of work, discipline and determination.

There were the sacrifices no one sees, the doubts, the “no”s, the failures, the questioning… But also the victories, the stages, the encounters, the doors that opened and the deep joy of flourishing in what you chose. You did not just hold on: you grew.

You also discovered the realities of the opera world: its codes, its prejudices, its inequalities, those moments when work and talent do not always speak first.

But you refused to let that define your path or limit your ambitions. So you worked. Again and again.

This degree does not reward a perfect road. It marks a journey built with perseverance and bears witness, above all, to the woman and artist you became along the way.

So stay hard-working and kind. Keep learning, daring, dreaming big… And if your journey can make others want to dare in turn, then the road will have served that purpose too.

To my family, my friends, my mentors, my audience, to those who support me in the shadows and to everyone my voice touches: THANK YOU.

And above all, thank God.

What comes next? It has already begun…

Musically, Marie France Eba Koua, M.Mus.