From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960, Roswell,
New Mexico) is an American mezzo-soprano.
Raised in Midland, Texas, she is a graduate of Texas
Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music.
She studied the piano for 13 years.[1] 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.[2]
She has also premièred several roles in contemporary operas,
including John
Harbison's The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker), Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (Sister
Helen Prejean), and Tobias Picker's An American
Tragedy (Sondra Finchley).[3]
Graham is a noted champion of the French song repertoire[4] and of
songs by contemporary American composers, including Ned Rorem and Lowell
Liebermann.[5] Graham
made her Carnegie
Hall recital debut in April 2003,[6] and a
recording of this recital was later released.
Graham sang "Bless This House" at George W. Bush's
second inauguration on 20 January 2005,[2]
and Schubert's "Ave Maria" at
the nationally televised funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on 29
August 2009. She is a US delegate for UNESCO.[7][8]
Opera
roles
Her operatic roles include:
Awards
- 2001 Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l'Ordre des
Arts et des Lettres)[25]
- June 2005 Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters
- Musical America 2004 Vocalist of the Year
- 2004 Grammy Award for Best Classical Vocal Performance, for her
album Ives: Songs (The Things Our Fathers Loved; The Housatonic At
Stockbridge, Etc.)
- 2005 Opera News Award
- September 5, 2006 Midland, Texas first annual "Susan Graham
Day"[26]
- May 2008, Honorary Doctorate, Manhattan School of Music
Some of the recordings have also received awards. See below.
Recordings
Susan Graham's recordings (in chronological order):
- 1992
- 1995
- Scenes from Goethe's Faust (Schumann) Bryn Terfel, Karita Mattila, Jan-Hendrik Rootering,
Barbara
Bonney, Endrik Wottrich, Iris Vermillion, Brigitte
Poschner-Klebel, Susan Graham, Hans-Peter Blochwitz, Harry Peeters,
Berliner
Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (conductor). Sony
Classical 66308
- 1996
- 1997
- Béatrice et Bénédict (Berlioz).
Catherine Robbin (Ursule), Gabriel Bacquier (Somarone), Gilles
Cachemaille (Claudio), Jean-Luc Viala (Bénédict), Philippe Magnant
(Léonato), Susan Graham (Béatrice), Sylvia McNair (Héro), Vincent le Texier
(Don Pedro), Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus, John Nelson (conductor).
MusiFrance 2292
- The Gold & Silver Gala Susan duets with Plácido
Domingo in La Ci Darem La Mano. EMI Classics 56337
- Les nuits d'été and Opera Arias (Berlioz) 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 (conductor) Sony
62730
- 1998
- 2000
- Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier Act 1 -
closing scene; Act 3 - Trio and finale; Arabella Act 1 duet;
Capriccio - closing scene. Renée Fleming (Marschallin), Barbara Bonney,
Susan Graham (Octavian), Vienna PO, Christoph Eschenbach (conductor)
Decca 466 314-2[27]
- Songs of Ned Rorem (Rorem) Malcolm Martineau (piano) Rorem's
settings of poems by Paul Goodman, Theodore
Roethke, Witter
Bynner, Tennyson, Walt Whitman and others. Erato 80222[28]
- Alcina (Handel) Renée Fleming,
Susan Graham, Natalie Dessay, Kathleen Kuhlmann,
Timothy Robinson, Laurent Naouri, Juanita Lascarro,
Michael Loughlin-Smith, Maurizio Rossano, Laurent Collobert, Eric
Demarteau, Les Arts Florissants,
William Christie
(conductor). Erato 80233[29]
- Berlioz:
L'enfance du Christ; Three Irlande songs;
Sara la baigneuse Susan Graham, François Le Roux, John Mark
Ainsley, Montreal SO and Chorus, Dutoit. Decca[30]
- 2001
- 2002
- Dead Man Walking (Heggie) Susan Graham,
Catherine Cook, Robert Orth, Frederica von Stade, Nicolle
Foland, David Harper, San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Patrick
Summers (conductor). Erato 86238-2[32]
- C'est ça la vie, c'est ça l'amour (Songs by Moïse
Simons, Messager, Maurice Yvain, Honegger, Hahn, and Mahler) City of Birmingham
Symphony Orchestra, Yves Abel (conductor). Erato 42106
- 2003
- 2004
- Concord Sonata - Songs
(Ives) 2005 Grammy Award for Best
Classical Vocal Performance. Pierre-Laurent Aimard (piano), Emmanuel Pahud
(flute), Tabea
Zimmermann (viola). Warner Classics 2564 60297-2[36][37][38][39]
- Vanessa (Barber). Susan Graham (Erika), Christine
Brewer (Vanessa), William Burden (Anatol), Michael Davis, Neal
Davies (The Old Doctor), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Old Baroness), Simon
Birchall (Nicholas), Stephen Charlesworth (Footman), BBC Singers
(Servants, Guests, Peasants), Anthony Legge (conductor), BBC
Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin (conductor). Chandos
CHSA 5032[40]
- Les
Troyens (Berlioz) — DVD. Susan Graham (Didon), Gregory Kunde
(Énée), Laurent
Naouri (Narbal), Lydia Korniordou (Andromaque), Mark Padmore (Iopas),
Topi Lehtipuu
(Hylas/Hélénus), Fernand Bernardi (Ghost of Hector), Danielle
Bouthillon (Hécube), Nicolas Courjal (Trojan Guard), Benjamin
Davies (Trojan soldier), Frances Jellard (Polyxène), Anna Caterina Antonacci
(Cassandre), Ludovic Tézier (Chorèbe), Renata Pokupić (Anna),
Quentin Gac (Astyanax), Stéphanie d'Oustrac (Ascagne), Nicolas
Testé (Panthée), René Schirrer (Priam), Laurent Alvaro (Trojan
Guard), Robert Davies (Greek Captain), Simon Davies (Priest of
Pluto), Monteverdi Choir, Chœur du Théâtre du Chatelet, Orchestre
Révolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner (conductor).
Opus Arte OA 0900 D
- Dido and
Aeneas (Purcell) Susan Graham (Dido), Ian Bostridge
(Aeneas), Camilla Tilling (Belinda), Felicity Palmer (Sorceress), David
Daniels (Spirit), Cécile de Boever (Second Woman), Paul Agnew (A
Sailor), Emmanuelle Haïm (conductor), European
Voices, Le Concert d'Astrée. Virgin Veritas 45605. Grammy Award
nomination. Maria
Callas award from the Académie du Disque Lyrique[41][42]
- 2005
- 2006
- 2008
- Berlioz
Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14, La mort de Cléopâtre Berliner Philharmoniker, Sir Simon Rattle EMI
2162240[46][47]
- Un Frisson Français: A Century of French Song Songs by
Georges Bizet,
César Franck,
Édouard Lalo,
Charles
Gounod, Camille Saint-Saëns, Emmanuel
Chabrier, Émile Paladilhe, Ernest
Chausson, Alfred Bachelet, Henri Duparc, Maurice Ravel, André Caplet, Albert Roussel,
Olivier
Messiaen, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré,
Reynaldo Hahn,
Erik Satie, Arthur
Honegger, Joseph Canteloube, Manuel
Rosenthal, and Francis Poulenc. Malcolm
Martineau (piano) Onyx Classics ONYX4030
References
- ^
Martin Kettle, "America's
most wanted". The Guardian, 10 December 2004.
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Hugh Canning, "Everything but
the girl". The Times, 11 March 2007.
- ^
Anthony Tommasini, "Dreiser's
Chilling Tale of Ambition and Its Price". New York Times,
5 December 2005.
- ^
Allan Kozinn, "Taking a
Two-Century Voyage Through the Music of France". New York
Times, 31 January 2007.
- ^
Anthony Tommasini, "A Singer
at Ease in Opera and in Song Repertory". New York Times,
19 April 2000.
- ^
Allan Kozinn, "A Brisk Tour,
Concluding With a Boa". New York Times, 18 April
2003.
- ^
U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Susan Graham
- ^
Mrs. Bush's Remarks to UNESCO
Plenary Session in Paris
- ^
The
Observer (Anthony Holden) Vanessa, you've been a very
lucky girl 23 November 2003
- ^
The Guardian (Tim Ashley) Vanessa 18 November
2003
- ^
Philip Anson Béatrice et Bénédict: Bis!
1 July 1997
- ^
The Guardian (Edward Greenfield) A new leash of life 19
August 2000
- ^
Renée
Fleming Fifty ways to sing about
love
- ^
The Guardian (Martin Kettle) Great Scott! Jay and Daisy
bring the jazz age to the Met
- ^
Anne Midgette, "How to Take a
Widow Three Stages Past Merry". New York Times, 24
December 2003.
- ^
Anthony Tommasini, "The Merry
Widow Meets The Embarrassed Fiancée". New York Times, 2
January 2004.
- ^
The Guardian (Alfred Hickling) Louche cannon 10 October
2003
- ^
Bernard Holland, "What Use an
Update if Hearts Beat Still the Same?". New York Times, 26
October 2004.
- ^
The Guardian (George Hall) La Clemenza di
Tito 4 May 2005
- ^
Bernard Holland, "Haunted by
the Deaths of Martyrs, a Century Apart". New York Times, 1
August 2005.
- ^
Anthony Tommasini, "A
Lithuanian Soprano Creates Her Own Ariadne ". New York
Times, 27 September 2005.
- ^
The Guardian (Tim Ashley) Ariadne auf Naxos 24 June
2004
- ^
The
Observer (Anthony Holden) Even the corpse is
fantastic
- ^
Jeremy Eichler, "Lushly
Lamenting the Wages of Time and a Lost Golden Age". New York
Times, 15 March 2005.
- ^
Ned Rorem and Susan Graham
Decoration
- ^
Midland, Texas declares Sept 5
“Susan Graham Day”
- ^
The
Guardian (Edward Greenfield) Other classical releases
4 February 2000
- ^
The
Guardian (Andrew Clements) Other classical releases
31 March 2000
- ^
The
Guardian (Andrew Clements) Pretty vacant 18 February
2000
- ^
The
Guardian (Edward Greenfield) Classical CD releases 3
November 2000
- ^
The
Guardian (Tim Ashley) Classical CD releases 6
April 2001
- ^
The
Guardian (Andrew Clements) Classical CD releases 5
April 2002
- ^
BBC Classical Review (Andrew McGregor) Susan Graham at Carnegie
Hall (includes audio samples)
- ^
New
York (Peter G. Davis) Cosi Fan Tutte, Beatrice et
Benedict, Susan Graham
- ^
WILLIAM DART On track: Album captures
special occasion for Susan Graham The New Zealand
Herald 26 November 2003
- ^
BBC Classical Review (Andrew McGregor) Ives: Concord Sonata, Songs,
Pierre-Laurent Aimard/Susan Graham
- ^
The
New York Times (Jeremy Eichler) The Best Classical CD's of
2004; IVES: SONGS, 'CONCORD' SONATA
- ^
The
Observer (Anthony Holden) Ives, Piano Sonata No 2
'Concord' 16 May 2004
- ^
The
Guardian (Andrew Clements) Ives: Piano Sonata No 2,
Concorde; Songs: Graham/ Aimard 7 May 2004
- ^
The
Guardian (Edward Greenfield) Barber: Vanessa, Brewer/
Graham/ Wyn-Rogers/ Burden/ Davies/ BBC Singers and SO/
Slatkin
- ^
BBC Classical Review (Andrew McGregor) Purcell: Dido and Aeneas,
Susan Graham, Ian Bostridge etc (includes samples)
- ^
The
New York Times (Allan Kozinn) The Best Classical CD's of
2004; PURCELL: 'DIDO AND AENEAS'
- ^
The
Guardian (Andrew Clements) Chausson Poème de l'Amour et
de la Mer; Ravel: Shéhérazade; Debussy (arr. Adams): Le Livre de
Baudelaire: Graham/ BBC SO/ Tortelier 20 May 2005
- ^
The
Observer (Anthony Holden) Debussy/Chausson/Ravel,
Songs 15 May 2005
- ^
The
Observer (Anthony Holden) Classical CDs: Mozart |
Sacred Songs | Matthew Taylor 23 October 2005
- ^
Rick Jones Simon Rattle: Berlioz -
Symphonie Fantastique The Times 30 August 2008
- ^
Anthony Holden
Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle (EMI 216 2240) # The
Observer 31 August 2008
External
links