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Suzanna Guzmán
Grammy-Nominated Mezzo-Soprano | Emmy Award-Winning Host | Arts Ed Advocate
Suzanna Guzmán, Grammy-nominated and two-time Emmy Award-winning TV/radio host, and mezzo-soprano, is a proud native of East Los Angeles. Renowned for her commanding stage presence and vocal artistry, she has appeared as a principal soloist with leading orchestras and opera houses across the globe — including the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opéra de Genève, San Diego Opera, and Houston Opera, among others.

A Defining Voice in Opera
Guzmán is best known for her celebrated portrayal of the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, described by TIME magazine as a “fire-breathing actress, devastatingly sexy.” Her artistry has also been central to numerous world premiere operas, collaborating with notable composers such as:
  • Giancarlo Menotti (Goya, Duchess of Alba)
  • Daniel Catán (Florencia en el Amazonas, Paula)
  • Tobias Picker (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox)
  • Michael Nyman (Facing Goya, The Art Banker)
  • Nicholas Lell Benavides (Caravana de Mujeres)
  • Ian Krause (Bodas de Sangre, The Mother)
  • Hector Armienta (Bless Me, Ultima, Ultima)
  • Marc Lowenstein (Hopscotch – The Mobile Opera, Lucha)
  • Eric Whitacre (Gift of the Magi, Sheila)
A Company Member of The Industry Opera, founded by Yuval Sharon, she has appeared in their productions of Galileo, War of the World's, First Take, Europera's 1&2. and in the most celebrated work HOPSCOTCH-the mobile opera. An original Associate Artist of Los Angeles Opera,  Guzmán holds the record for most female principal roles performed by an artist with Los Angeles Opera — over 400 performances.
  • Awards and Recognition
A dedicated arts advocate, Guzmán’s leadership and service to her community have earned numerous honors, including:
  • 2015 Hispanic Scholarship Mentor of the Year
  • 2016 Mexican American Opportunity Foundation Woman of the Year
  • Grammy nomination (2006, Best Classical Recording)
  • Helen Hayes Award Nomination (Amahl and the Night Visitors, directed by Giancarlo Menotti)
  • Honorary Doctor of Music, Occidental College
  • 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award, The Nederlander Organization
Television and Education
Guzmán hosted the PBS weekly TV series OPEN CALL for 52 episodes and served for years as host of the L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Her broadcast work earned her four L.A. Area Emmy nominations and two Emmy Awards (2019 & 2021) for Live Special Event.
A longtime member of the Music Center Education Division and Music Center on Tour, her acclaimed one-woman show, Don’t Be Afraid! It’s Just Opera!, has introduced over 500,000 inner-city students nationwide to the power of opera.
Recent and Upcoming Performances
  • The Sound of Music — Mother Abbess, La Mirada CLO
  • Anastasia — Dowager Empress, Tuacahn Center for the Arts, Ivins, UT
  • In the Heights — Abuela Claudia, Bristol Riverside Theatre, PA
  • Host, The Music Center’s 2025 Very Special Arts Festival
  • Host, The Music Center’s 2026 Spotlight Awards at the Ahmanson Theatre
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hi res me

In 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;.

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​