Bio
Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as an “artist ready for the big
time,” soprano Susannah Biller was a member of the prestigious Adler
Fellowship Program with San Francisco Opera. While in San Francisco,
she was seen as Frasquita in Carmen, Lolita in the world premiere of
John Harbison’s Heart of a Soldier, Kristina in The Makropoulos Case and
Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor. Additional productions with
San Francisco Opera include Der Ring des Nibelungen, Serse and
Werther. Engagements for 2018-2019 included the revival of her Kitty
Packard in Dinner at Eight in her Wexford Festival debut as well as the
title role in Madame White Snake on tour with Beth Morrison Projects
for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Musetta in La bohème with Austin
Opera, and a return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as the Countess in Le
nozze di Figaro. The 2019-2020 season sees her as a soloist for Dona
nobis pacem with the Chattanooga Symphony and Carmina burana with
the Memphis Symphony.
Biller’s 2017-2018 season included Norina in Don Pasquale with
Minnesota Opera, Lieschen in Der Ring des Polykrates with The Dallas
Opera, Nanetta in Falstaff with Opera Colorado, and her role debut as
Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Des Moines Metro Opera. In the 2016-2017 season, she joined Beth Morrison Projects as the title role in Madame White Snake, San Diego Opera as Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Minnesota Opera as
Kitty Packard in the world premiere of Dinner at Eight, and returned to Opera Theatre of St. Louis as Fraulein Burstner/Leni in The Trial by Philip Glass.
The 2015-2016 season included her debut with the Louisiana Philharmonic for
Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, her return to Arizona Opera as Rosalba in Florencia en el Amazonas, and debuts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Des Moines Metro Opera as Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice, and the
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The 2014-2015 season saw Ms. Biller as Adele in Die Fledermaus with Portland Opera, Mica in Carly Simon’s Romulus Hunt with Nashville Opera, Marie in La fille du régiment with Arizona Opera and
Costanza in Riccardo Primo with Opera Theater of St. Louis. To open the 2013-2014 season, Ms. Biller portrayed the role of Selena in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne with San Francisco Opera.
She received multiple accolades for her work in this role including from the San Francisco Chronicle, which hailed that she “was a bright toned, poignant
Selena; her aria during the eclipse garnered a well-earned explosion of applause” and Opera Now, who acclaimed that she “was hugely impressive as the abused daughter. Her crystalline soprano and limpid tonal production perfectly suggested the young woman, but then assumed a hint of steel when she matures into the bitter twenty-something who hates her mother.” Additional engagements for the 2013-2014 season included Garcias in Don Quichotte with San Diego Opera and Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Theater of St. Louis.
Other notable performances include her company and role debut with Portland Opera as Nanetta in Falstaff, her role debut as Despina in San Francisco Opera’s production of Così fan tutte for which ARThound hailed her as one of the “clear stand-outs” who “literally glows on stage and managed to grab the limelight through the entire performance,” Eritea in Cavalli’s Eliogabalo with Gotham Chamber Opera, her New York Debut as Fortuna in Christopher Alden’s new production of Il sogno di scipione with Gotham Chamber Opera, and productions of Nixon in China and Die Zauberflöte
with San Francisco Opera. Ms. Biller debuted with Ensemble Parallele as Eurydice in the award-winning production of Philip Glass’ Orphée, and also with Opera Santa Barbara as Serpina in La serva padrona. She celebrated major success in the 2009 San Francisco Opera Merola Program performing in the Schwabacher Scenes Concert as Musetta in La bohème, Euridice in Orfeo, Monica in The Medium, and Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri.