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opera bioSuzanna Guzmán Mezzo-soprano TV, Radio host, opera director and mezzo soprano, is a native of East Los Angeles and has appeared as a principal soloist with orchestras and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera de Genève and San Diego Opera, to name a few. Garnering acclaim for her portrayal of the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, (Fire-breathing actress, devastatingly sexy.” TIME magazine) Guzmán continues to hold the record for most principal roles sung by an L.A. Opera artist. A champion of new music, she is a member of the experimental opera company The Industry, where she recently performed Lucha in Hopscotch, the mobile opera, Mrs. Martinez in War of the Worlds and 2019 in Europeras with the L.A. Phil. In a production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as Mrs. De Rocher, critics said: “Guzmán came across as so authentic, it transcended the artificiality of the theatrical experience. Everything seemed to melt away: the moment danced between sobering and exhilarating.” Fresno Bee. 2018-19 season saw Ms. Guzmán as Candelas in El Amor Brujo with Jaime Martin, Houston Grand Opera’s workshop of a new mariachi opera Recuerdos de las Memorias, and as Marcellina in the 12-hour live loop BLISS with Ragnar Kjarrtansson and the L.A. Philharmonic, Christopher Rountree conducting. A passionate arts advocate, Guzmán has garnered numerous service awards including: 2015 Hispanic Scholarship Mentor of the Year, 2016 Mexican American Opportunity Foundation Woman of the Year, a Grammy nod for the 2006 Best Classical Recording, Helen Hayes Award best actress nomination for the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors directed by Giancarlo Menotti, an honorary PhD from Occidental College and a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nederlander Organization. Host of the PBS weekly TV series OPEN CALL for 160 episodes as well as co-host of the 2019 EMMY Nominated 59th L.A. County 2018 Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, presented to 13,000,000 viewers, with Brian White, Ken Shapiro producer. A longtime member of the Music Center Education Division, her one-woman show Don’t Be Afraid! It’s Just Opera! has been performed for over 200,000 inner-city students nationwide. She serves as master class presenter for the 2019 Spotlight Awards, a USC Thornton School of Music mentor and is the current co-director of the award winning LACHSA Opera Department where she received a Best Music Director Award and nomination for Best Director from National Youth Theatre Awards for the LACHSA production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. 2019 marks 17 years performing the title role of Dios Inantzin: La Virgen de Tepeyac with Latino Theater Center. More info? Visit www.suzannaguzman.com. |
hi res meIn a recent production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as Mrs. De Rocher, critics said: “Guzmán came across as so authentic, it transcended the artificiality of the theatrical experience. Everything seemed to melt away: the moment danced between sobering and exhilarating.” Fresno Bee;.
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ROME PLEASE.Any futuristic coolness was further undercut by mezzo-soprano Suzanna Guzmán, whose winning presence as the Art Banker relied mostly on old-fashioned vocal technique and a time-honoured dramatic conviction with the text.
Ken Smith, London Times |