Susan Graham


Susan Graham is an American mezzo-soprano.

Life and career

Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers have included Cynthia Hoffmann and Marlena Malas. She studied the piano for 13 years. She was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, and also a recipient of the Schwabacher Award from the Merola Program of San Francisco Opera.
Graham made her international début at Covent Garden in 1994, playing Massenet's Chérubin. She has also premièred several roles in contemporary operas, including John Harbison's The Great Gatsby, Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, and Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy.
Graham is a noted champion of the French song repertoire and of songs by contemporary American composers, including Ned Rorem and Lowell Liebermann. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in April 2003, and a recording of this recital was later released.
Graham sang "Bless This House" at George W. Bush's second inauguration on January 20, 2005, and Schubert's "Ave Maria" at the nationally televised funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on August 29, 2009. She is a US delegate for UNESCO.

Opera roles

Her operatic roles include:
Some of the recordings have also received awards. See below.

Recordings

;1992
;1995
;1996
;1997
  • Béatrice et Bénédict. Catherine Robbin, Gabriel Bacquier, Gilles Cachemaille, Jean-Luc Viala, Philippe Magnant, Susan Graham, Sylvia McNair, Vincent le Texier, Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus, John Nelson. MusiFrance 2292
  • The Gold & Silver Gala Graham duets with Plácido Domingo in "Là ci darem la mano". EMI Classics 56337
  • Les nuits d'été and Opera Arias Les nuits d'été Op. 7 and songs from La Damnation De Faust Op. 24, Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens, Béatrice et Bénédict. Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, John Nelson Sony 62730
;1998
;2000
;2001
;2002
;2003
  • At Carnegie Hall Malcolm Martineau Erato 2564 60295-2
;2004
;2005
  • Poèmes de l'amour – Chausson Poème de l'amour et de la mer; Ravel Shéhérazade; Debussy orch. Adams Songs from Le Livre De Baudelaire BBC Symphony Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier Warner Classics 2564 619382
  • Sacred Songs Renée Fleming, London Voices, RPO/Delfs. Decca 475 6925. Graham sings a duet with Fleming in "Abends will ich schlafen gehn" from Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel.
;2006
;2008
;2010