Biography

 

With forays into the roles of Cio-Cio San and the four heroines in LES CONTES d’HOFFMANN, Suzan is excited to be exploring operatic roles which fully utilize her abilities as the consummate singer/actress. Blessed with a voice of exquisite beauty and power, which has been lauded by critics and audience members alike, it was only a matter of time before Suzan’s talents would bring her to this challenging yet rewarding repertoire.

Suzan Hanson SopranoReturn engagements to many opera and theater companies have afforded Suzan opportunities to develop into a recognized and sought after multi-dimensional artist. Critics have been overwhelmed by the fully realized characters she creates; characters filled with a pathos and humanness often lacking on the operatic stage. Suzan is thrilled at the prospect of adding heroines such as Violetta, Tosca, Norma and Salome to her already substantial repertoire.

Simultaneously, Suzan’s acting career has blossomed with recent portrayals of diverse heroines such as the Haunting Hanako in the recent premiere of SOUND OF A VOICE (Phillip Glass and David Henry Hwang), the exuberant, sexy and touching Maria of Charles Mee’s WINTERTIME, and the enigmatic, elegant Actress of ENTER THE GUARDSMAN. Through numerous productions, workshops and readings, working with such luminaries as Faye Dunaway, Leonard Foglia, Michel Legrand, Sheldon Harnick, Robert Woodruff, and Lillian Groag, Suzan has also proven to be a skilled comedienne.

Perhaps what is most intriguing in a career such as Suzan’s is her constant involvement with the creation of new works, be they Opera Theater or Theater with Music. Through such productions, Suzan has found a particular niche where she challenges the lines of differentiation between actress and singer.

Most recently Suzan recreated her critically acclaimed Eurydice in ORPHEUS X (Eckert) for the NYC premiere of this intriguing piece of Music Theater. Suzan has been involved with ORPHEUS X from its creation at ART under the direction of Robert Woodruff, followed by featured performances at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Following ORPHEUS X, Suzan played a number of roles in THE GOOD SOLDEIR SCHWEIK for Long Beach Opera in a rompingly zany production directed by Ken Roht, conducted by Andreas Mitisek. In March Suzan appeared as Pat Nixon in NIXON IN CHINA for Long Beach Opera under the baton of Andreas Mitisek and the direction of Peter Pawlik. Suzan’s first foray as Pat was with Arena di Verona.

RECORDINGS by Ms. Hanson are available for purchase online at Amazon (type Suzan Hanson in the top upper-left Search box).