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Suzanna Guzman

Birth Place: Los Angeles CA

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BIO

Suzanna Guzmán, Emmy Award winning tv/radio host, opera director and mezzo soprano, is a native of East Los Angeles and has appeared as a principal soloist with orchestras and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera de Genève and San Diego Opera, Houston Opera, to name a few. She is best known for her portrayal of the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, (Fire-breathing actress, devastatingly sexy.” TIME magazine) and has created roles in numerous world premiere operas with such notable composers as Giancarlo Menotti (Goya, Duchess of Alba), Daniel Catán (Florencia en el Amazonas, Paula) Tobias Picker (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mrs. Fox), Michael Nyman (Facing Goya- US Premiere, The Art Banker) Ian Krause (Bodas de Sangre, The Mother), Hector Armienta (Bless me, Ultima, Ultima) Marc Lowenstein (Hopscotch-The Mobile Opera, Lucha) and most recently December 2019 with Eric Whitacre (Gift of the Magi, Sheila). In 2019, Guzmán appeared with Houston Grand Opera in Mexico City in the workshop production of Leonard Foglia’s Recuerdos de las Memorias, In Ragnar Kjartansson’s epic work Bliss, the 12-hour Mozart marathon, as Madame de la Halterre with Opera Del Wests acclaimed Cendrillon, and continues to hold the record for most female principal roles sung by an artist with Los Angeles Opera: over 400 performances. She is a Company member of Yuval Sharon’s experimental opera company, The Industry, and in a recent production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as Mrs. De Rocher, critics said: “Guzmán came across as so authentic, it transcended the artificiality of the theatrical experience. Everything seemed to melt away: the moment danced between sobering and exhilarating.” Fresno Bee;
A passionate arts advocate, Guzmán service to Arts and Community has garnered numerous awards including: 2015 Hispanic Scholarship Mentor of the Year, 2016 Mexican American Opportunity Foundation Woman of the Year, a Grammy nod for the 2006 Best Classical Recording, Helen Hayes Award best actress nomination for the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors directed by Giancarlo Menotti, an honorary PhD from Occidental College and a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nederlander Organization.
Host of the PBS weekly TV series OPEN CALL for 52 episodes, in 2018 she hosted 59th L.A. County Holiday Celebration at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion which was nominated and won the 2019 Los Angeles Emmy Award. A longtime member of the Music Center Education Division and Music Center on Tour, her one-woman show Don’t Be Afraid! It’s Just Opera! has been performed for over 200,000 inner-city students nationwide. She serves on the roster of the Music Education Division and is a masterclass presenter for colleges and universities across the country including the Music Center’s Spotlight Awards. Visit www.suzannaguzman.com.

STAGE CREDITS

[Regional (US)]
World Premiere, 1986
Performer


Awards and Nominations

Helen Hayes Awards - 1991 - Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical

Suzanna GuzmanAmahl and the Night Visitors

News


The Music Center's Very Special Arts Festival Returns For Two Days Of In Person Events

The Music Center's 43rd Annual Very Special Arts Festival returns to an in-person celebration and opens to the public for the very first time, continuing the performing arts center's long-standing tradition of providing opportunities for young people of all abilities to express their creativity.
BWW Interview: Diane Phelan Singing THE SOUND OF MUSIC & Shouting the Voice of Activism

La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts and McCoy Rigby Entertainment’s next production The Sound of Music opens April 23, 2022 (with two previews preceding). Glenn Casale directs the cast of this Rodgers & Hammerstein classic headed by Diane Phelan as Maria, Christopher Carl as Captain von Trapp and Suzanna Guzman as Mother Abbess. I had the chance to throw out a few queries to Diane on being the first Asian actress to portray Maria, as well as her backstory on her acting career and social activism.
The Soraya Announces November 2020 Online Offerings

Innovative and unique online programing continues through November at The Soraya with a month of performances and events that feature a lineup of some of today's finest performing artists.  Among the highlights include The Soraya's first collaboration with Southland Sessions: KCET and PBS SoCal—“A Tribute to Linda Ronstadt at The Soraya.”
Opera's Suzanna Guzman Stars Holiday Pageant LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE, DIOS INANTZIN

Latino Theater Company streams archival recording of epic holiday pageant 'La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin' starring opera singer Suzanna Guzman.
The Music Center's SPOTLIGHT ACADEMY Goes Online

The Music Center has launched a new episodic series of online tutorial videos as part of The Music Center's Spotlight Academy to help aspiring young artists gain valuable insights on arts careers, workforce development skills and tips on how to apply for the organization's free, annual Music Center Spotlight arts training and scholarship program.
Suzanna Guzman Stars In Free Holiday Pageant LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE, DIOS INANTZIN

16th annual La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin - A Los Angeles holiday tradition starring renowned opera singer Suzanna Guzman as the Virgin and featuring over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers as well as children and seniors from the community in the City's largest theatrical holiday production. Join the tens of thousands who have become transfixed by the story of Juan Diego, a simple peasant to whom the Virgin Mary appeared on four occasions in the mountains of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531.
LA Philharmonic Fluxus Festival Celebrates The Experimental Interdisciplinary Movement Of The 1960s And 1970s

The LA Phil pays tribute to the experimental and deeply influential Fluxus movement of the 1960s and 1970s with a season-long program of performances and events at Walt Disney Concert Hall and venues throughout Los Angeles, beginning October 14, 2018. An international, anti-establishment movement whose practitioners included artists, composers, designers, and architects, as well as economists, mathematicians, ballet dancers, and others, Fluxus aimed to collapse what it considered the false wall between art and life by emphasizing artistic process over finished product. In a survey curated by American conductor and composer Christopher Rountree, in collaboration with the Getty Research Institute, the often-humorous, frequently challenging music and performances of Fluxus will be featured in a combination of concerts, symposia, and other live events, as well as surprise installations and performances throughout the 2018/19 Centennial season.
Mariachi Vargas Perform CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA at The Soraya, 2/16

The world's first mariachi musical Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon) created by Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan's Jose Pepe Martinez and Broadway's Leonard Foglia, will have its Los Angeles premiere at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya) on Friday, February 16 at 8:00pm, Saturday, February 17 at 8:00pm and Sunday, February 18 at 3:00pm.
Review Roundup: Immersive WAR OF THE WORLDS at Walt Disney Concert Hall

WAR OF THE WORLDS, composed by Annie Gosfield, plays again at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on November 18 at noon and 2pm. Let's see what the critics had to say!
Suzanna Guzman Stars In Free Holiday Pageant

GOYA Foods presents the 15th annual La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin A Los Angeles holiday tradition starring renowned opera singer Suzanna Guzman as the Virgin and featuring over 100 actors, singers and indigenous Aztec dancers as well as children and seniors from the community, the City's largest theatrical holiday production celebrates its Quincea era in 2017. Join the tens of thousands who have become transfixed by the story of Juan Diego, a simple peasant to whom the Virgin Mary appeared on four occasions in the mountains of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531. Adapted for the stage from the mid-16th century text The Nican Mopohua by LTC resident playwright Evelina Fern ndez and performed in Spanish with English subtitles, this site-specific epic event is produced by the Latino Theater Company at downtown's Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra Presents BEETHOVEN'S SYMPHONY NO. 9 THE CHORAL, 4/22

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, presents Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, “The Choral” with the Los Angeles Master Chorale and guest soloists Kathryn Mueller, soprano; Suzanna Guzman, mezzo-soprano; Paul Appleby, tenor; and Justin Hopkins, bass, on Saturday, April 22, 2017, 8 pm, Alex Theatre, and Sunday, April 22, 2017, 7 pm, Royce Hall. 
Three World Premieres Headline Latino Theater Company's 2017 Season

Three world premieres by Los Angeles-based playwrights Jonathan Ceniceroz, John Pollono and Diane Rodriguez make up the centerpiece of the Latino Theatre Company's 2017 season at The Los Angeles Theatre Center.
The 5th Annual Jerry Herman Awards Announces Nominees; Awards Show to Be Held at Pantages, 5/22

Today, the Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre announced the nominees for THE 5TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles.
LA Chamber Orchestra Announces 2016-17 Season

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), one of the nation's premier orchestras as well as a leader in presenting wide-ranging repertoire and adventurous commissions, announces its 2016-17 season, its final under the leadership of esteemed Music Director Jeffrey Kahane, who steps down at the end of the season, concluding an unprecedented and extraordinary 20-year tenure at the Orchestra's artistic helm, the longest in LACO history. The sweeping and deeply personal season commemorates Kahane's remarkable legacy, spotlights his exceptional rapport with the Orchestra and features some of the world's leading musicians.
Corbin Bleu, Roger Bart and More to Present at 2015 Jerry Herman Awards; Final Nominees Announced!

Today, the Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre announced final nominees for THE 4TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles.
Final 4th Annual Jerry Herman Awards Nominees Announced Today

The Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre previously announced preliminary nominees for THE 4TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles. Final nominations in all production and performance categories will be announced today, May 26th.
Preliminary Nominations for 4th Annual Jerry Herman Awards Announced!

The annual awards show will be hosted by KABC-7 Reporter George Pennacchio at the Hollywood Pantages on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 7pm. All tickets for this awards celebration are $25 and are now on sale to the public online at www.JerryHermanAwards.com, www.HollywoodPantages.com/JHA2015, www.Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-982-2787 or at the Hollywood Pantages Box Office (6233 Hollywood Blvd). Group tickets are available at www.PantagesGroups.com or by calling 866-755-3075 Mon-Fri; 10am-5pm PT.
Nominations for 4th Annual Jerry Herman Awards Announced - Corbin Bleu, Roger Bart, Kevin Chamberlin and More to Present, 5/26

Today, the Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre announced preliminary nominees for THE 4TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, a celebration of the achievement and excellence in high school musical theatre in Los Angeles. Final nominations in all production and performance categories will be announced on Tuesday, May 26th.
Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra and Positive Motions Announce Fifth Anniversary Season

Glendale Philharmonic Association and Positive Motions Foundation proudly present The Fifth Anniversary Season of the Glendale Philharmonic Orchestra and Positive Motions Concert Series, founded five years ago by renowned and critically acclaimed Russian cellist, Ruslan Biryukov.
Kentwood Players' OPENING NIGHT Documentary Airs on KCET Tonight, 10/11

Kentwood Players was founded by the late Arky and Jan Marcom, Elizabeth Thornberg and Betty Francis in December 1949, and performs out of the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, LA 90045. In 2009-2010, the group celebrated its 60th anniversary season during which the musical, 'Li'l Abner" was presented from March 12 to April 17, 2010. The production was directed and choreographed by Victoria Miller and produced by Susan Goldman Weisbarth, and both went on to win the group's Marcom Masque Awards as Best Director and Best Producer for the season.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What awards has Suzanna Guzman been nominated for?

Suzanna Guzman has been nominated for the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Resident Musical at the Helen Hayes Awards for her performance in Amahl and the Night Visitors.

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