Susanna Andersson
Susanna Andersson has already established herself among the top of Sweden’s young singers. Equally at home on the concert and opera stage her flexible and bright toned lyric coloratura voice has received considerable praise.
Recently Susanna made a very successful debut as Oscar/Un Ballo in Maschera at Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires and as Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro at New Turku Opera in Finland. Her Venus and Gepopo/Le Grand Macabre in La Fura del Baus production at English National Opera, Adelaide Festival and Teatro Colon had the critics raving as well as in her Vivaldi and Handel concert with Il pomo d’oro together with Topi Lehtipuu and writer Donna Leon at the Turku Music Festival.
Susanna has also recently premiered ‘Animal Songs’, written especially for her and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra by Albert Schnelzer, appeared in Higglety Pigglety Pop! by Oliver Knussen at the Aldeburgh Festival and at the Barbican in London, Into The Little Hill by George Benjamin with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and as Blondchen/Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Garsington Opera.
Born in the Swedish city of Östersund her musical education began at Ljungskile College Institute before she began studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. While at the Guildhall Susanna won the prestigious Gold Medal Competition, graduated with a First Class Honours degree and went on to win the coveted Song Prize at the annual Kathleen Ferrier Awards.
Susanna made her professional debut as Zerlina/Don Giovanni at Grange Park and soon after her German debut as Adina/L’elisir d’amore at Nürnberg Opera. Thereafter followed debuts at Opera North, Covent Garden’s Lindbury Theatre and English National Opera. During 2007-2009 Susanna was on a contract at Oper Leipzig where her roles included Blondchen/Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Valencienne/Merry Widow, Servilia/La Clemenza di Tito, Zerbinetta/Ariadne auf Naxos, Lisette/La Rondine and Gretel/Hänsel ind Gretel.
In concert Susanna has appeared with the Copenhagen and Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, Malmö and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestras, Stockholm Sinfonietta, Nordic Chamber Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester, English Chamber Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Scottish and BBC Symphony Orchestras. In 2008 she made her BBC Proms debut singing the world premiere of Stuart Macrae’s Gaudete written especially for her. Susanna has also given recitals with pianist Eugene Asti in London, New York, Athens, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Brussels, Stockholm, Cologne and Vienna as part of the ECHO Rising Stars series in 2006-2007.
Susanna was guest artist at the 2004 Nobel Prize Ceremony in Stockholm and the 2008 Polar Music Prize Ceremony. She has worked with conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Lawrence Foster, Roy Goodman, Tecwyn Evans, Ira Levin, Andrew Manze, Edward Gardner, Baldur Brönnimann, George Benjamin, Alberto Hold-Garrido, John Storgårds, Sian Edwards and Leo Hussain.