Susanne Burgess is a young operatic soprano with a sizeable and remarkably warm voice. She has been praised for her unique penchant for dramatic coloratura, emotional expression, and stage presence.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland and raised in five countries including Great Britain, Germany and the United States, Susanne developed an early ear for language and deep appreciation for world cultures. It wasn't until high school in Austin, Texas that Susanne found the unique voice that would define her passion and career in opera.
 

This year, Susanne made her debut with New York City Opera as Hannah in the World Premiere of ​Dear Erich by Ted Rosenthal. She returned to the company in the role of Musetta in Puccini’s ​La Bohème. Susanne went on to reprise the role of Musetta with the MidAtlantic Symphony shortly after making a role debut as Cio-Cio San in a new adaptation of  Puccini’s ​Madama Butterfly with the Denver Festival of Arts and Technology​. ​ Later in 2019, Susanne joined Teatro Grattacielo in NYC as Mimi in Leoncavallo’s ​La Bohéme and​ La Principessa in Respighi’s ​La bella dormente nel bosco. In 2020, Susanne will join Teatro Lirico d’Europa’s Winter Tour as Violetta in ​La Traviata and reprise the role of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly at Opera New Hampshire before joining Opera Theater St. Louis for their productions of Susannah and Die Fledermaus before rounding out the summer at Opera North as Gilda in Rigoletto.
 

Susanne made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2017 with the New England Symphony singing the Pie Jesu from Fauré Requiem and Soprano solos in John Trotta’s The Seven Last Words of Christ and returned to Carnegie Hall to sing the Soprano solos in Jubilate Deo and Requiem for the Living by Dan Forrest. Earlier that year, she made her international debut as Anna in ​Le Villi and Lauretta in ​Gianni Schicchi with the Festival of the Aegean in Athens and Syros Greece after joining Des Moines Metro Opera as Berta in The Barber of Seville and their production of Flight by Johnathan Dove. 

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Ms. Burgess has also won a number of post-graduate awards and grants for operatic excellence  from the Denver Lyric Opera Guild, Metropolitan Opera National Council, Opera Theater  Pittsburgh,  Jensen Foundation, and the National Federation of Music Clubs.    

In June of 2013, Ms. Burgess graduated, Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Music from the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. During her time at university, Susanne was awarded a Full-Tuition Operatic Merit Scholarship as well as the Dean’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence. While enrolled in the prestigious opera program, under the direction of world-renowned bass, Kenneth Cox, Susanne performed many fully staged and orchestrated roles such as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus (Lamont) and performed Soprano Solos in the Denver Symphony Orchestra Performances of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony and Elijah.

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