Susanne Marsee

Susanne Marsee (née Susan Irene Dowell, on November 26, 1941, in San Diego, California, and raised in Westchester, California) is an American mezzo-soprano of note, particularly acclaimed as a singing-actress. Her principal teacher was Nadine Conner, and her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Los Angeles, and advanced studies at the American Opera Center of The Juilliard School. She is of Greek, English, and French heritage.

Miss Marsee was the New York City Opera's leading mezzo-soprano from 1970, when she debuted as Sara, Duchess of Nottingham, opposite Beverly Sills, Plácido Domingo, and Louis Quilico, in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, with Julius Rudel conducting Tito Capobianco's production.

She proceeded to sing a great gallery of roles at the City Opera, including Siébel in Faust, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sesto in Giulio Cesare, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (opposite Michael Devlin), Nicklausse in Les contes d'Hoffmann (with Sills and Norman Treigle), Dorabella in Così fan tutte (with Patricia Brooks), Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier (with Johanna Meier), Maddalena in Rigoletto (opposite José Carreras), Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos (with Carol Neblett), Maffio Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia (with Sills), the title role of La belle Hélène, Zaida in Il turco in Italia, Estella Drummle in the world premiere of Miss Havisham's Fire (with Rita Shane), Doña Manuela in La loca, Mariana in the world premiere of The Student from Salamanca, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Néris in the Italian version of Médée (with Marisa Galvany), the name part in Carmen (in Frank Corsaro's production), the title role of La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, Mallika in Lakmé, Bellino in Casanova's Homecoming, Adalgisa in Norma, Dulcinée in Don Quichotte, Charlotte in Werther (with Jon Garrison), Valencienne in Die lustige Witwe, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro (with Herbert Perry as Figaro), Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rose in the world premiere of Marilyn, and Marta in Mefistofele, as well as musical comedy.

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