Cristina Ferri studied piano at the R.Franci School of Music in Siena. She began studying opera singing with Carlo Bergonzi and graduated from the Academy of Opera Singing in Busseto (Pr); at only eighteen years of age, she received a diploma of merit from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. She then graduated privately in singing at the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence. In 1994, at the age of twenty-one, she made her debut in P. Mascagni’s ‘L’amico Fritz’ in the role of Suzel at the Valli Theatre in Reggio Emilia, with the Orchestra Toscanini, conducted by Maestro Ranzani. She continued her musical studies with Renata Scotto, Magda Olivero and Raina Kabaivanski. She won a scholarship at the Voci Verdiane Competition, which enabled her to do a master’s degree at the Parma Theatre. She receives diplomas of merit at the Accademia Pucciniana in Torre del Lago. She made her debut in La Bohème in concert form in Fidenza. She was Liù in Turandot in the summer of 1998 in Tuscany where, in 1999, she was again Mimì in La Bohème by G.Puccini.
In 2001 she was the overall winner of the ‘Mattia Battistini’ International Competition and made her debut in G.Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ in the title role at the Vespasiano Theatre in Rieti .
She made her debut in the role of Donna Anna in ‘Don Giovanni’ by W.A.Mozart at the theatre of Bassano del Grappa and in the same year the role of the Countess from ‘Le Nozze di Figaro’ by W.A.Mozart. She made her debut in the role of Eugenia from ‘ Il Filosofo di Campagna ’ by B.Galuppi at the theatre of Belluno and Alicante (Spain). She toured all the theatres in Spain with ‘ Desvan Verdi ’. In 2002 she won the international competition ‘ Tito Gobbi’.
In 2003 she was Leonora in G.Verdi’s Il Trovatore with the Ravenna Festival production conducted by Julian Kovatchev, Violetta in La Traviata in Carrara, and again Liù in Turandot in Como, Brescia, Bergamo, Pavia and Cremona conducted by Massimo de Bernard.
In 2004 she performed in a concert with the Rome Opera, then interpreted Nedda in Teramo, and continued with Carmina Burana at the Santa Cecilia under the direction of Roberto Gabbiani
In 2005 she won the 12th Di Stefano Competition, and performed Magda in La Rondine conducted by Maestro Steven Mercurio, then revived in Paris at the Chatelet Theatre, under the baton of Marco Armiliato.
In 2006 she made her debut as Donna Elvira in Zagreb and performed Mozart’s Requiem in Messina conducted by Maurizio Arena
In 2007 she was again Nedda in I Pagliacci in Zagreb and Liù in Turandot at the Rome Opera (Caracalla), under the baton of Maestro Alain Lombard. In the same summer she also performed concerts in Hvar, Croatia, and was again Violetta in Traviata in Split. She also plays the role of Manon Lescaut in Osijek, Croatia, under the baton of Maestro Loris Voltolini.
In 2008 she was again Liù in Turandot in Beijing, she debuted the role of Lauretta in ‘Gianni Schicchi “in Palermo, conducted by Maestro Paolo Arrivabeni, and in Bologna in ”Der vampyr ’in the role of Emmy, opening of the season, conducted by Maestro Roberto Abbado and directed by P.Pizzi.
She debuted the role of Hanna Glavary in ‘La Vedova Allegra’ conducted by Christopher Franklin in Genoa in December 2009 and in March 2010 sang Belinda in ‘Dido and Aeneas’ at La Fenice in Venice. In December 2010 it was her turn as Leonora in Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio at the Ponchielli Theatre in Cremona.
In September 2011, she sang Mimì in ‘La Bohème’ by G.Puccini at the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena, where the following year she played Leonora in ‘Trovatore’ by G.Verdi. In October 2011 and January 2012 she sang Santuzza from ‘Cavalleria Rusticana’ by P.Mascagni and Violetta in ‘La Traviata’ by G.Verdi at the Franco Zappalà Theatre in Palermo.
In the summer of 2013 she sang again Violetta and Nedda from ‘ Pagliacci “ by R.Leoncavallo at the Festival ”La Lirica’ at Castello in Val d’Elsa (Siena).
In the 2014/2015 season an important Dutch tour in the role of Aida (directed by Francesco Bellotto), several recitals in Bratislava, Bohème in Siena and Butterfly in Pisa.
Her city of Siena awarded her the prestigious Mangia d’Oro, a medal for civil valour for her cultural commitment and for having honoured the name of Siena in the world.
She is often the protagonist of interviews and cultural insights on RAI programmes hosted by Gigi Marzullo, such as Sottovoce, Testimoni e Protagonisti and Applausi.
In 2017, she again took on the roles of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana and Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly at the Franco Zappalà theatre in Palermo. She then performed in Verdi’s Requiem in Barcelona, with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. She then inaugurated the opera season at the Gran Teatro Tenda in Palermo, debuting in the role of Tosca, directed by Franco Zappalà.
In May 2018, a book by Bruno Baudissone, containing an interview with Cristina, is published.
She also takes part in the production of the soundtrack for Donato Carrisi’s film L’uomo del labirinto (The Labyrinth Man), starring Dustin Hoffman and Tony Servillo, which will be released in Italian cinemas on 30 October 2019.
In 2020 she is the creator and presenter of the radio programme ‘Dalla Musica al Teatro mi sono ritrovata in Radio’, broadcast on Radio Nuova Trieste.
In 2021 she is Tosca in an opera festival in the Viterbo area, sings Mimì in G. Puccini’s ‘La Bohème’ in Fiuggi, and performs a series of recitals in Tuscany and ending in Sicily. She is also called upon as a lecturer for several opera singing masters’ courses in Tuscany. The year 2022 opens with a collaboration with online publications in the sector.
In April and June 2022 he performed a series of recitals. Also in June, in collaboration with director Franco Zappalà, she creates the video ‘Quando le donne vengono uccise dall’indifferenza’, a short film that will be presented at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena on the day on gender violence in the presence of all the authorities and the head of the Italian state police. In August, she was again Hanna Glawary in F.Lehàr’s ‘La Vedova Allegra’ in Sicily. In September, she directed ‘Suor Angelica’ by G.Puccini at the music festival in Casole d’Elsa (Si). She once again took on the role of Floria in G.Puccini’s ‘Tosca’ on the centenary of Ettore Bastianini’s birth and performed numerous recitals.
In 2023, she received the lifetime achievement award ‘Donna è’. In March, she created the concert/story ‘Le donne di Puccini’ on a text by Cristina Ferri herself, performed at the Biblioteca degli Intronati in Siena.
In November, she was called as a teacher at the Accademia Verdiana Carlo Bergonzi in Busseto (PR) and participated in numerous recitals throughout Italy.
In 2024 she was again Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Butterfly at the Royal Palace of Colorno (Pr) and in Parma . She again dresses the role of Tosca in a summer festival at Lake Bolsena and is again Hanna Glawary in F. Lehàr’s Merry Widow . On 5 September Siena presented her with a lifetime achievement award and her video on gender violence was screened at the Parma Film Festival. In November in Bologna, she presented her show ‘La violenza nel melodramma . After numerous recitals in Italy, she was again called as a teacher at the Accademia Verdiana Carlo Bergonzi for the preparation of the opera ‘ La Rondine ’ by G. Puccini . In January 2025, she is Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Teatro dei Rozzi in Siena.
