Susanna Phillips' Set for the Met, Carnegie Solo Debut and STREETCAR in Chicago in 2012–13 Season

A quickly-rising star who is already one of the opera world's most sought-after vocalists, soprano Susanna Phillips has filled the upcoming season with an exciting schedule of engagements. Phillips returns to New York's Metropolitan Opera for her fifth consecutive season, makes her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut, and taps into her Southern heritage as Stella in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire with Renée Fleming in performances at Carnegie Hall and Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Alabama native will return to her hometown of Huntsville during one of her numerous recital dates throughout the US. Phillips will also make concert appearances with the Baltimore Symphony and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, among others, and she'll wrap up the year at the Santa Fe Opera.

Phillips launched her 2012–13 season in mid-September with a return to her home state for performances with the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham, during which she delighted both critics and audiences. 

Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera

In late November, Phillips makes her Met role debut as Donna Anna in Michael Grandage's returning production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. Phillips received the Met's 2010 Beverly Sills Award, and the Met has become her home away from home. This will be her fifth consecutive season performing at the hallowed institution, where she has previously received acclaim for roles including Pamina in Julie Taymor's production of The Magic Flute, and Musetta in La bohème, which the New York Observer called "captivating." The 2012 production of Don Giovanni will be conducted by Edward Gardner, and the intriguingly young cast also features Ildar Abdrazakov as Don Giovanni, Erwin Schrott as Leporello, Charles Castronovo as Don Ottavio, Emma Bell as Donna Elvira, and Ekaterina Siurina as ZerlinA. Phillips has previously played Donna Anna at the Fort Worth Opera Festival and Boston Lyric Opera.

Carnegie Hall Solo Recital Debut

In an exciting finish to her winter tour with pianist Myra Huang, Phillips presents one of her compelling recital programs in Weill Recital Hall on February 8, 2013. While the soprano has previously performed at this notable venue, this is Phillips's Carnegie Hall solo recital debut. The evening's repertoire reflects Phillips's continued fascination with music from all eras and her dedication to new music, and will include works by Schubert, Chausson, Berg, Granados, Messiaen, and Myers. Prior to this performance, Philips and Huang will make stops in her hometown of Huntsville, AL, Sarasota, FL, and Philadelphia, PA.

A Streetcar Named Desire

In March, Phillips brings her deeply Southern background to this season's highly-anticipated return of André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, the composer's 1998 acclaimed interpretation of the celebrated 1947 Tennessee Williams play. In this semi-staged concert production directed by Brad Dalton, Phillips will portray Stella Kowalski, the understanding sister and lustful wife, opposite Renée Fleming's dynamically portrayed Blanche Dubois, and baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes's Stanley Kowalski. The production premieres at Carnegie Hall on March 14, 2013, as part of Fleming's Perspectives residency at the venue, and features the Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Patrick Summers. Streetcar then travels to Lyric Opera of Chicago for performances on March 26, 29, April 3, and 6, where it will by led by Evan Rogister.

Concert and Recital Appearances, and a Santa Fe Opera Season Finale

Phillips's eventful season also includes numerous concert and recital appearances throughout the US. In February and March 2013, Phillips performs with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in Mozart's Requiem, the great composer's unfinished masterpiece. Led by Ignat Solzhenitsyn, additional soloists are Marietta Simpson, Norman Reinhardt, and Robert Gleadow. In May, Phillips will join the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Robertson, to tackle a demanding program that includes Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Act III of Berg's Wozzeck. Phillips will also make concert appearances with Musica Sacra at Alice Tully Hall (October 22); the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra (April 12); the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, with which she'll perform Paul Moravec's The Blizzard Voices and songs by Copland and Ives (April 22)

Among Phillips's numerous recital engagements are concerts with harpist Sivan Magen in Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as her winter tour with pianist Myra Huang, which stops in Sarasota, Philadelphia, her hometown of Huntsville, AL, and Carnegie Hall. She'll also give concerts with violist Paul Neubauer and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott in Sedona, AZ (April 14) and San Diego (April 26), and in May, she'll join Huang and tenor Joseph Kaiser in Boston (May 1) and New York (May 5).

In June and July, Phillips wraps up her season on the operatic stage, reprising her interpretation of the Countess in Jonathan Kent's celebrated production of The Marriage of Figaro at the Santa Fe Opera. A favorite of Santa Fe audiences, Phillips was an apprentice there in 2004, made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Pamina in 2006, and subsequently appeared as Così fan tutte's Fiordiligi in 2007, the Countess in 2008, and Don Giovanni's Donna Elvira in 2009.

Additional information about Susanna Phillips is available at susannaphillips.com, and a list of her upcoming engagements follows.

Susanna Phillips – upcoming engagements

Oct 14
Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church
Brooklyn, NY
Recital with Sivan Magen (harp)

Oct 22
Alice Tully Hall
New York City, NY
Musica Sacra
Mozart: Exsultate, jubilate
Haydn: "Lord Nelson" Mass
Beethoven: Choral Fantasy

Oct 26
House of the Redeemer
New York City, NY
Recital with Sivan Magen (harp)

Nov 28, Dec 1, 5, 8, 11, 15 & 20
Metropolitan Opera
New York, NY
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Donna Anna)

Jan 12 & 13
Historic Asolo Theater
Sarasota, FL
Recital with Myra Huang

Jan 25
Trinity Methodist Church
Huntsville, AL
Recital with Myra Huang

Feb 1
American Philosophical Society
Philadelphia, PA
Recital with Myra Huang

Feb 8
Carnegie Hall - Weill Recital Hall
New York City, NY
Recital with Myra Huang

Feb 28, March 2 & 3
Baltimore Symphony
Baltimore, MD
Mozart: Requiem

March 14
Carnegie Hall
New York City, NY
Previn: A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella) *in concert

March 26, 29, April 3, & 6
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Previn: A Streetcar Named Desire (Stella)

April 12
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra
Madison, WI
Canteloube: Selections from Chants d'Auvergne
Mozart: "Non mi dir, bell'idol mio" from Don Giovanni
Mozart: "Bella mia fiamma, addio – Resta, oh cara," K. 528

April 14
St. John Vianney Church
Sedona, AZ
Concert with Paul Neubauer (viola) and Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)

April 18
American Pianists Association
Indianapolis History Center, Indianapolis, IN
Recital with APA finalists

April 22
Carnegie Hall
New York City, NY
Oratorio Society of New York
Paul Moravec: The Blizzard Voices; songs by Copland and Ives
April 26
Mainly Mozart Festival
San Diego, CA
Chamber music concerts with Paul Neubauer (viola) and Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)

May 1
Pickman Hall
Boston, MA
Recital with Joseph Kaiser (tenor) and Myra Huang (piano)

May 5
Morgan Library
New York City, NY
Recital with Joseph Kaiser (tenor) and Myra Huang (piano)

May 9, 10, 11 & 12
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
St. Louis, MO
Berg: Act III of Wozzeck
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9

June 28, July 5, 10, Aug 3, 8, 13, 20 & 23
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe, NM
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro (Countess)

Photo Credit: Ken Howard