Faculty Artist Series
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- Susanne Mentzer
Departments
Courses Taught
Applied Lessons
Vocal Performance Lab
Education
MM, The Juilliard School
BM, The Juilliard School
Ensembles
Metropolitan Opera 1989–Present
La Scala
Covent Garden
Vienna State Opera
San Francisco Opera, 1987, 1995
Awards and Distinctions
VERA Award, The Voice Foundation for Vocal Health Awareness, 2013
Brother Thelan Award, Alexian Brothers, USA for volunteer work, 2004
Notable Studio Wins
Emerson McAlister - special honorable mention at the regional Met Opera Laffont Competition in Los Angeles, 2023
Distinguished Alumni
Stella Hannock, mezzo soprano- full-time chorister SF Opera
Sarah Nadreau, mezzo soprano- full-time chorister SF Opera
Nina Jones, mezzo-soprano performing with Ars Minerva and covering with Opera Parallele
Natalie Mitchell, soprano - Avaloch Chamber Music residency in NH
Mahsheed Massarat, mezzo-soprano- Voice teacher at Westside Music School, and Colorful Universe Performing Arts
Chen Holtzman, mezzo soprano- Performing with the Israeli Opera after being in their Meitar Opera Studio
Marina Davis and Brig Urias premiered their song cycle "Through the endless coil" for guitar and voice
She has an incisive, throbbing mezzo-soprano, and her technique is rock solid, reveling in a freely ringing top and upper middle, while wisely negotiating lower passages with savvy dramatic flair."
— Opera Today
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Philadelphia, PA; Thurmont, MD; and Santa Fe, NM
What are you passionate about outside of music?
Dogs, movies, theater, and Scrabble.
Who were your major teachers?
Norma Newton and Rose Bampton.
What was the defining moment when you decided to pursue music as a career?
When I was about 16, I realized my voice was different. It did not fit in with other people my age.
What was a turning point in your career?
European debut at age 26 in Cologne, Germany.
If you weren't a musician or teacher, what do you think you would be doing now?
Music Therapy.
If you could play only three composers for the rest of your life, who would they be?
Mahler, Mozart, and Richard Strauss.
What are your most important collaborations?
Craig Rutenberg (piano), Jean-Pierre Ponnelle (director), and James Levine (conductor).
Who are three students you have had the privilege of teaching?
Cecelia Hall: Metropolitan Opera, Frankfurt Opera
Michael Sumuel: Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera. international career
Kyle Albertson: Metropolitan opera and international career
Where have you been published?
The Huffington Post Arts Section
What recordings can we hear you on?
Carlisle Floyd: Wuthering Heights, Resonance Records
Carlisle Floyd: Songs — Citizen of Paradise, Roven Records
Wayfaring Stranger, Erato
Eternal Feminine: Songs by Women Composers, KOCH International
R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos, DVD Metropolitan Opera
What is your unrealized project?
Performing a leading role in a new opera premiere
Biography
American mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer has established herself not only as an international singer but also as a writer, teacher and arts advocate. Susanne is a mentor to young singers and, as she continues to occasionally perform, she feels a kinship with her students. In 2016 she joined the faculty of SFCM after 12 years in academia as a Tenured Professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and Associate Professor at DePaul University in Chicago. She is also an instructor of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera and at Songfest at Colburn. She has been on faculty at the Aspen Music Festival and School. She regularly adjudicates competitions and serves on the Board of Directors of The Sullivan Foundation and The George London Foundation which each give awards to promising young singers. Many of Susanne’s former students are singing in leading opera houses around the world. Her stellar singing career encompasses 37 years in nearly every major opera company, orchestra and recital organization. She sang leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera since 1989. see susannementzer.com for a complete listing. Susanne was born in Philadelphia and raised in Maryland and Santa Fe, NM where she fell in love with opera as an usher. She received her Bachelor and Master degrees from The Juilliard School studying with Rose Bampton, and was trained in the Houston Opera Studio and continually with Norma Newton. She received the Alexian Brothers USA Thelan Award for her help raising over one-million dollars through gala concerts for the AIDS cause in Chicago and continues to participate in charitable events. Susanne has contributed regularly to the Huffington Post and her outspokenness about vocal health has earned her the VERA Award 2013 (Voice Education Research Awareness) from The Voice Foundation.
Performances with Susanne Mentzer
View Performance Calendar
Department Recital
Tue
Oct
29
Student Recital
Tue
Nov
12
Susanne Mentzer in the News
Read All News
opera and musical theatre
Ravel Production Sends SFCM Opera Grads Off on A High Note
May 17, 2023
opera and musical theatre
SFCM's Opera Department Puts On Double Bill of 'Classic' French Operas
November 22, 2022
susanne mentzer
SFCM’s Susanne Mentzer Performs Mozart in Japan
August 31, 2022