Susanne Mentzer Mezzo-soprano

Quotes, Reviews & Features

Critical Acclaim

“And veteran mezzo Susanne Mentzer, who has lately made Despina a signature role, makes the maid the major mover in the story. Given her current ability one asks why she quit singing Strauss' Octavian, a role that she sang with splendor in Santa Fe only a decade ago.”

The Daily Camera, April 27, 2009

“Mentzer was a charismatic Dido, unspooling Purcell's long, slow melodies in a mezzo voice subtly textured with smoke and golden fire.”

ChicagoSun-Times, February 17, 2006

“[Susanne Mentzer] invested Dido's desolate lament, ‘When I am laid to Earth,’ with vibrant intensity and a tragic pathos that made her imperious fury when scorned as palpable as the fierce pride she unleashed when the conflicted Aeneas recanted his decision to leave her.”

ChicagoTribune, February 16, 2006

“Susanne Mentzer embodied the overly sensitive Composer in hilarious fashion, while her elegant voice set the tone for the entire opera.”

Andrew Druckenbrod, Opera News, January 2006

“The fabulous mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer sang the Composer. She excels at trouser roles, where her character is male. Mentzer…is superb regardless of the gender of her roles because she uses beautifully colored voice with dramatic insights and acts with a vivid range that includes many levels of subtlety.”

PittsburghTribune, October 24, 2005

“Mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, as the naïve lover Marguerite, sang with darkly luminous tones, delivering a rapturous ‘Romance’ song - perhaps foremost among the evening’s highlights.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 17, 2005

“The mezzo’s vocally impeccable, emotionally compelling performance proved that she is among the premier art-song interpreters of our day. Her rich, vibrant sound retains its warmth from top to bottom and throughout its broad dynamic range, and she draws the listener into the spirit of each song with a deep internal connection that creates distinctive characters with a minimum of outward display.”

Opera News, February 6, 2005

“...the most striking was mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer, reaching deep for the mournful rumblings of ‘Welcome, Maids of Honour’ and bringing lyrical fluency to the Auden setting ‘Out on the Lawn I Lie in Bed.’"

San Francisco Chronicle, October 16, 2004

“The admired mezzo-soprano Suzanne Mentzer was Beatrice, and she added luster to her formidable reputation with solid, ample tone and comic verve. Her big second-act aria was masterly in effect.”

The Hudson Review, Summer 2003

“Ms. Mentzer conveyed the harried despondency of the intensely self-serious young composer, who appears only in the Prologue.”

The New York Times, March 31, 2003

“Marie's first aria, for instance, ‘O mes soeurs,’ was movingly sung by Susanne Mentzer, who brought a sweet simplicity to her fine interpretation of the role.”

The New York Times, May 21, 2002

“…the mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer gave an impassioned performance of the role of Composer. Ms. Mentzer inflects the Composer's music with a rich variety of vocal colors and expressive nuances, and she beguiles you with a vibrant portrayal of a fledgling composer who takes himself and his opera far too seriously ”

The New York Times, April 16, 2001

“Ms. Mentzer's beautifully modulated mezzo-soprano voice flirted with the sharp side of pitches throughout the program, but the words were framed carefully and the sound was lovely.”

The New York Times, November 5, 2001

“Her amazing portrayal (seen Oct. 16) was on a level seldom encountered in opera these days. Before Mentzer even opened her mouth she dominated the stage; the way she moved and stood instantly conveyed a confident, aristocratic young man. Vocally, she was even more commanding. There seemed to be nothing she could not do. Her beautiful, seamless voice molded and polished phrases, conveying every bit of the emotion in Bellini's score. Her embellishments (note perfect and thrilling in their delivery) were a lesson in how to define a character musically, and in the final scene Mentzer used silences as authoritatively as she used music and words.”

Opera News, February 2000

“Like all gifted communicators, she so focused her sound and her interpretive spirit on that delicate truth that the audience was irresistibly drawn into her experiences of the moment. At the end of Au cimitière, one could only sigh and think how lovely her singing had been.”

HoustonChronicle, Jan 11, 1999

“Mentzer’s voice is lustrous, rich, and velvety...it’s a voice to drown oneself in.”

The Ann Arbor News, April 9, 1998

“Melisande was not in white, but in shifting silver: elusive but feminine, evasive but knowing, with less of the waif and more of the woman in the person of mezzo Susanne Mentzer. Her firm lower register, balancing out her silvery top notes, added an especially provocative element to the character’s actions.”

The Wall Street Journal, Feb 14, 1997

“By contrast, Mentzer’s Adalgisa was another gem in her crown of great Italian coloratura performances. Brilliant, lustrous, emotionally communicative singing was joined to a superb dramatic portrayal of Adalgisa’s entrapment between her loyalty to Norma and her rival love for Pollione.”

American Record Guide, July/August 1996

“Mentzer…issues waves of vocal beauty.”

The New York Times Feb. 10, 1996

“Not only is she blessed with one of the most beautiful voices on the planet, Mentzer is a convincing actress as well, both physically and vocally, and her performance was completely satisfying in every respect.”

The Journal-American, Jan 11, 1994

“Susanne Mentzer’s mezzo-soprano here is a pleasure to hear, and even in her extremes of petulance one remains sympathetic to the emotional candor and admiring of a basic decorum.”

The New York Times

“Susanne Mentzer sang her first Rosina at the house with consummate richness and agility, proving herself a genuine coloratura mezzo with a supple technique and a voice of exquisite tone and color.”

Opera News, May 1994

“Saturday’s version of Idomeneo was a curious merger of brilliance and non sequitur. At its center was Susanne Mentzer’s fiercely felt and splendidly controlled performance as Idamante.”

The New York Times, October 3, 1994

“Of the singers, the one who best conveys the pathos beneath the comedy is Susanne Mentzer, whose gorgeous mezzo and radiant passion make the composer poignant and heroic.”

Daily News, March 26, 1993

“Strongest in the cast was Susanne Mentzer, an Octavian who commanded the title role with ravishing sound and fluent, credible action.”

Opera News, April 11, 1991