Susanne Mentzer
Encyclopedia
Susanne Mentzer is an opera
tic 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.
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. She has also premiered works by Libby Larsen
, Daniel Brewbaker and Carlisle Floyd
.
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
. She studied music therapy
at the University of the Pacific and received her bachelor and masters degrees at the Juilliard School
. She later participated in the Houston Grand Opera
Studio.
Mentzer made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Cherubino on January 4, 1989. Other 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 and Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff
, in addition to her role in The First Emperor
.
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
. 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
.
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.
As of 2006, she serves on the faculty of Rice University
's Shepherd School of Music. She previously served on the faculty of DePaul University
.
Ms. Mentzer is the sister of fantasy writer and game designer Frank Mentzer
.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. She is best known for singing trouser roles
Breeches role
A breeches role is a role in which an actress appears in male clothing .In opera it also refers to any male character that is sung and acted by a female singer...
, such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Idamante in Mozart's Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
, Octavian in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
' Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
and the composer in Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
, as well as other music of Mozart, Strauss, Rossini, Berlioz and Mahler.
She created the role of the mother of Yueyang in Tan Dun
Tan Dun
Tan Dun is a Chinese contemporary classical composer, most widely known for his scores for the movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.-Early life in China:...
's opera The First Emperor
The First Emperor
The First Emperor is an opera in two acts with a libretto written in English by Tan Dun and Ha Jin, and music by Tan Dun. The opera received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera at the Lincoln Center in New York City on 21 December 2006, conducted by the composer and with Plácido Domingo in the...
at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
on December 21, 2006. She has also premiered works by Libby Larsen
Libby Larsen
Libby Larsen is one of America’s most performed living composers. She has created a catalogue of over 400 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over fifteen operas...
, Daniel Brewbaker and Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd
Carlisle Floyd is an American opera composer. The son of a Methodist minister, he based many of his works on themes from the South...
.
Biography
Mentzer was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and raised in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. She was first introduced to opera as a teenager, when she worked as an usher
Usher (occupation)
Ushers assist visitors by formally showing the way in a large building or to their appropriate seats. This may coincide with a security role. The word comes from the French huissier, with the same meaning , ushers were servants or courtiers who showed or ushered visitors in and out of meetings in...
at the Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
. She studied music therapy
Music therapy
Music therapy is an allied health profession and one of the expressive therapies, consisting of an interpersonal process in which a trained music therapist uses music and all of its facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or maintain their...
at the University of the Pacific and received her bachelor and masters degrees at the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. She later participated in the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
Studio.
Mentzer made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the role of Cherubino on January 4, 1989. Other roles she has sung at the Met include Octavian, Idamante, Nicklausse in Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
's Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
, the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Rosina in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Mozart's Così Fan Tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
, Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande and Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, in addition to her role in The First Emperor
The First Emperor
The First Emperor is an opera in two acts with a libretto written in English by Tan Dun and Ha Jin, and music by Tan Dun. The opera received its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera at the Lincoln Center in New York City on 21 December 2006, conducted by the composer and with Plácido Domingo in the...
.
She has also appeared at Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, the San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
, the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, Covent Garden
Royal Opera
Royal Opera or Royal Opera House may refer to:* Khedivial Opera House, Cairo, Egypt; burnt down in 1971* Kungliga Operan, opera house and opera company in Sweden* Opéra Royal de Versailles, France* Opéra Royal de Wallonie, opera house in Liège, Belgium...
, Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, the Cologne Opera
Cologne Opera
The Cologne Opera refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company.-History of the company:...
the Opéra de Paris and at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
. Besides the roles she has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, her operatic reportory includes Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, the title role of Rossini's La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, Dido in Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid...
, Adalgisa in Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
's Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
and Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
in Donizetti's Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both telling of the life of Anne Boleyn...
.
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.
As of 2006, she serves on the faculty of Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
's Shepherd School of Music. She previously served on the faculty of DePaul University
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
.
Ms. Mentzer is the sister of fantasy writer and game designer Frank Mentzer
Frank Mentzer
Jacob Franklin "Frank" Mentzer III , is an American fantasy author and game designer best known for his work on early materials for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. He was a performing folk musician from 1968 to 1975, and played one concert at the White House during the...
.