Alessandra Marc was born Judith Borden in Berlin, Germany to a German mother and an American father who worked for the United States Army.
Marc first became interested in becoming an opera singer while attending Glen Burnie High School, where she began taking voice lessons.
[better source needed] Marc studied at the University of Maryland and privately with soprano Marilyn Cotlow, who originated the role of Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone.
Under Cotlow's mentorship, Marc began entering voice competitions winning several honors including two Richard Tucker Music Foundation Career Grants, one in 1986 and the other in 1987, and the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1983.
That same year, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as Silvana in Ottorino Respighi's La Fiamma with Robert Bass and the Collegiate Chorale.
[7] In 1988 she made her debut with Santa Fe Opera as Maria in Richard Strauss' Friedenstag, a role which she later reprised at Carnegie Hall with Robert Bass.
[9] She also performed and recorded the role of Maria in Richard Strauss' Friedenstag with Robert Bass and the Collegiate Choral and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
She also made her debut with Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux as Elisabeth in Verdi's Don Carlo and sang Turandot with the Opera Company of Philadelphia.