Susannah Biller
Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as an “artist ready for the big time”, soprano Susannah Biller was recently seen as Daisy in the San Francisco premiere of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby with Ensemble Parallele. In recent seasons, she was a member of the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program with San Francisco Opera. While in San Francisco, she was seen as Frasquita in Carmen, Lolita in the world premiere of John Harbison’s Heart of a Soldier, Kristina in The Makropoulos Case and Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor. Additional productions with San Francisco Opera include Der Ring des Nibelungen, Serse and Werther.
Last season, she joined Beth Morrison Projects as the title role in Madame White Snake, San Diego Opera as Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Minnesota Opera as Kitty Packard in the world premiere of Dinner at Eight, and returned to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Fraulein Burstner/Leni in The Trial by Philip Glass. The 2017-2018 season and beyond includes Norina in Don Pasquale with Minnesota Opera, Lieschen in Der Ring des Polykrates with The Dallas Opera, Nanetta in Falstaff with Opera Colorado, and her Austin Opera debut.
The 2015-2016 season included Ms. Biller’s debut with the Louisiana Philharmonic for Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, her return to Arizona Opera as Rosalba in Florencia en el Amazonas, and debuts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Des Moines Metro Opera as Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice, and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The 2014-2015 season saw Ms. Biller as Adele in Die Fledermaus with Portland Opera, Mica in Carly Simon’s Romulus Hunt with Nashville Opera, Marie in La fille du régiment with Arizona Opera and Costanza in Riccardo Primo with Opera Theater of St. Louis. To open the 2013-2014 season, Ms. Biller portrayed the role of Selena in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne with San Francisco Opera. She received multiple accolades for her work in this role including from the San Francisco Chronicle, which hailed that she “was a bright toned, poignant Selena; her aria during the eclipse garnered a well-earned explosion of applause” and Opera Now, who acclaimed that she “was hugely impressive as the abused daughter. Her crystalline soprano and limpid tonal production perfectly suggested the young woman, but then assumed a hint of steel when she matures into the bitter twenty-something who hates her mother.” Additional engagements for the 2013-2014 season included Garcias in Don Quichotte with San Diego Opera and Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Theater of St. Louis. During the 2012-2013 season, she made her company and role debut with Portland Opera as Nanetta in Falstaff, made her role debut as Despina in San Francisco Opera’s production of Così fan tutte for which ARThound hailed her as one of the “clear stand-outs” who “literally glows on stage and managed to grab the limelight through the entire performance.” Additionally, she returned to Gotham Chamber Opera in 2013 as Eritea in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo. In the 2011-2012 season, Ms. Biller made her New York Debut as Fortuna in Christopher Alden’s new production of Il sogno di scipione with Gotham Chamber Opera and returned to San Francisco Opera for productions of Nixon in China and Die Zauberflöte.
Ms. Biller debuted with Ensemble Parallele as Eurydice in the award-winning production of Philip Glass’ Orphée, and also with Opera Santa Barbara as Serpina in La serva padrona. She celebrated major success in the 2009 San Francisco Opera Merola Program performing in the Schwabacher Scenes Concert as Musetta in La bohème, Euridice in Orfeo, Monica in The Medium, and Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri.
