At the 54th Annual GRAMMY® Awards last night, EMI/Virgin Classics exclusive artist Joyce DiDonato won in the Classical Vocal Solo category for her album Diva Divo.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Kansas City-born mezzo-soprano became the first ever classical singer to perform at the GRAMMYs® with a rousing rendition of Rossini’s “Non più mesta” from Diva, Divo which brought the audience to its feet in a standing ovation.

“Thank you for letting an opera girl come into this,” Joyce said in her acceptance speech. She also rallied the crowd by urging people to support arts education, saying how “there’s a war on in our country against the arts right now…we need more musicians in our lives.”

Diva, Divo is an album which celebrates the rich variety of the mezzo-soprano voice, including a selection of arias for both male and female characters which perfectly showcase DiDonato’s extraordinary instrument.