Susanne Mentzer (born January 21, 1957) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano. She is best known for singing trouser roles, such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro , Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo , Octavian in Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and the composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos , as well as other music of Mozart, Strauss, Rossini, Berlioz and Mahler. [1] [2]
She created the role of the mother of Yueyang in Tan Dun's opera The First Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera on December 21, 2006. [1] [3] She has also premiered works by Libby Larsen, Daniel Brewbaker and Carlisle Floyd. [2]
Mentzer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in Maryland and New Mexico. She was first introduced to opera as a teenager, when she worked as an usher at the Santa Fe Opera. [1] She studied music therapy at the University of the Pacific and received her bachelor's and master's degrees at the Juilliard School. [1] She later participated in the Houston Grand Opera Studio. [1] [4] [5]
Mentzer made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Cherubino on January 4, 1989. [6] Further roles she has sung at the Met include Octavian, Idamante, Nicklausse in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffmann , the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia , Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte , Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande , Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff , Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro . [5] [6] [7]
She has also appeared at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, the Cologne Opera the Opéra de Paris and at the Salzburg Festival. [1] Besides the roles she has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, her operatic reportory includes Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni , the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola , Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas , Adalgisa in Bellini's Norma and Jane Seymour in Donizetti's Anna Bolena . [1]
In addition to many audio recordings, Mentzer has appeared on television in performances of Le nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and the First Emperor and on DVDs in performances of Don Giovanni, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, The First Emperor and Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. [1] [2] [8]
Through 2012, she served on the faculty of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. She previously served on the faculty of DePaul University. She currently has a private studio based in San Francisco. [2] In 2016, Mentzer joined the voice faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Susanne Mentzer is the sister of fantasy writer and game designer Frank Mentzer. [9]
A mezzo-soprano (Italian:[ˌmɛddzosoˈpraːno], lit. 'half soprano'), or mezzo ( MET-soh), is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above (i.e. A3–A5 in scientific pitch notation, where middle C = C4; 220–880 Hz). In the lower and upper extremes, some mezzo-sopranos may extend down to the F below middle C (F3, 175 Hz) and as high as "high C" (C6, 1047 Hz). The mezzo-soprano voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic.
The German Fach system is a method of classifying singers, primarily opera singers, according to the range, weight, and color of their voices. It is used worldwide, but primarily in Europe, especially in German-speaking countries and by repertory opera houses.
Frederica von Stade is a semi-retired American classical singer. Best known for her work in opera, she was also a recitalist and concert artist, and she recorded more than a hundred albums and videos. She is especially associated with operas by Mozart and Rossini, and also with music by French and American composers, most notably Jake Heggie. A Chevalier of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, twice the winner of a Grand Prix du Disque and nominated nine times for a Grammy award, she is widely regarded as the pre-eminent lyric mezzo-soprano of her generation.
Tatiana Troyanos was an American mezzo-soprano remembered as "one of the defining singers of her generation". Her voice, "a paradoxical voice — larger than life yet intensely human, brilliant yet warm, lyric yet dramatic" — "was the kind you recognize after one bar, and never forget", wrote Cori Ellison in Opera News.
Maria Louise Ewing was an American opera singer. In the early part of her career she performed solely as a lyric mezzo-soprano; she later assumed full soprano parts as well. Her signature roles were Blanche, Carmen, Dorabella, Rosina and Salome. Some critics regarded her as one of the most compelling singing actresses of her generation.
Irmgard Seefried was a distinguished German soprano who sang opera, sacred music, and lieder.
Angelika Kirchschlager is an Austrian mezzo-soprano opera and lieder singer.
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Jane Berbié is a French mezzo-soprano particularly associated with Mozart and Rossini roles.
Susanne Marsee is an American mezzo-soprano of note, particularly acclaimed as a singing-actress.
Frances Lillian Bible was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad. Martin Bernheimer wrote in Opera News that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto filigree one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good."
Jaroslava Maxová is a Czech mezzo-soprano opera singer and vocal coach.
Kate Lindsey is a mezzo-soprano opera singer from the United States. She is married to the documentary filmmaker Olly Lambert.
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Wallis Giunta is a Canadian mezzo-soprano opera singer performing at leading theatres and opera companies around the world.
Delores Ziegler is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international performance career since the late 1970s. A former resident artist at the Cologne Opera, she has performed leading roles with many of the world's best opera houses, including La Scala, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. She is currently a professor of voice at the University of Maryland. While she has performed a broad repertoire, she is widely admired for her performances in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss; particularly Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Idamante in Idomeneo, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.
Erna Ellmenreich was a German operatic soprano, a member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart. She performed there leading parts and several premieres, including Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss and works by Paul Hindemith.
Sophie Koch is a French operatic mezzo-soprano who made an international career, performing Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Royal Opera House, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss at the Semperoper in Dresden, and Charlotte in Massenet's Werther at the Paris Opera, among others. Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss became her signature role. She has also performed in concert and recital, and made recordings.
Hanna Ludwig was a German contralto and mezzo-soprano and an academic voice teacher. She participated in several roles at the first Bayreuth Festival after World War II and performed leading roles at major European opera houses, such as the title role of Der Rosenkavalier at the Vienna State Opera. She toured the world as a lieder singer. After retiring from the stage she turned to teaching in Ankara and, from 1971, at the Mozarteum.
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