Susanne Mentzer has become one of today’s
foremost mezzo-sopranos. She is widely
admired as a specialist in trouser rôles, most
notably for her portrayals of Cherubino (Le
nozze di Figaro) and The Composer (Ariadne
auf Naxos) and also specialises in the music of
Mozart, Strauss, and the bel canto repertoire.
She enjoys a significant concert and recital
career, with a particular interest in chamber
music, and is known as an interpreter of the
vocal works of Mahler and a proponent of
women’s music. Susanne Mentzer has
appeared at nearly every great opera house and
with major orchestras, under the batons of
Muti, Masur, Mackerras, Colin Davis,
Bonynge, Dutoit, Mehta, Sinopoli, Ozawa,
Marriner, Haitink, Chailly, Abbado,
Eschenbach, Boulez, Norrington, Sawallisch,
and others. She also has appeared in many
productions of the late director Jean-Pierre
Ponnelle, whom she considers one of her great
influences, and with the late Giorgio Strehler
at La Scala. Her extensive discography
includes two recitals she often performs in
concert: The Eternal Feminine, a recital of
music by women composers, which includes
the première of Libby Larsen’s Love After
1950 with her long-time pianist, Craig
Rutenberg; and her personal favourite,
Wayfaring Stranger, a collection of
international folk-songs arranged for voice
and guitar, with Grammy Award winning
Sharon Isbin. Susanne Mentzer has
established herself as a pedagogue, frequently
giving master-classes in conjunction with singing engagements. She has been appointed Professor of Voice at Rice
University’s Shepherd School of Music and continues her distinguished tenure on the faculty of the Aspen Music
Festival and School. She has degrees from the Juilliard School and was trained in the Houston Opera Studio. She
received the Alexian Brothers, USA Thelan Award for her involvement with the AIDS cause in Chicago.