Maria Chiara was born in Oderzo, Italy on 24/11/1939. She studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto, Venice (1960-1965) under baritone and later husband Antonio Cassinelli, and later under soprano Maria Carbone in Turin. She made her opera debut in 1965 at a gala given at the Palazzo Ducale (Ducal Palace), performing the role of Desdemona in Othello. Her appearance was followed by invitations to perform in Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris. In 1967, Chiara appeared in the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples as Mimi [La bohème]. In 1969 she sang the part of Liu [Turandot] and in 1970 the part of Micaela [Carmen] in the Arena di Verona. She appeared in Munich and Vienna alongside Plácido Domingo. Her repertoire included mainly operas by Verdi and Puccini. Highlights in Chiara’s career included her singing in the operas Madama Butterfly, Tosca in Naples (1974), La traviata in the Metropolitan Opera, New York (1977), Carmen (as Micaela) and Aida in La Scala, Milan (1985) alongside Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolaj Ghiaurov, Juan Pons, Ghena Dimitrova and Paata Burchuladze. In 1986, she also appeared in Chicago as Manon Lescaut [Manon Lescaut], Melbourne and Buenos Aires as Amelia [Un ballo in maschera] and in Luxor, Egypt in 1987 as Aida [Aida]. Her interpretation in the opera Aida at La Scala is preserved on DVD. After she retired, Chiara devoted herself to teaching young singers. She appeared at the GNO in 1968 as Violetta in La traviata.