Quittmeyer, Susan
Quittmeyer, Susan
Quittmeyer, Susan , American mezzo-soprano; b. N.Y., Oct. 27, 1953. She studied at the Illinois Wesleyan Univ. School of Music (1971–75) and at the Manhattan School of Music (1975–77). In 1978 she made her operatic debut as Chloe in The Tree of Chastity at the Opera Theatre in St. Louis. Her debut as a soloist came in 1981 when she sang in Beethoven’s 9th Sym. with the San Francisco Sym. under Slatkin’s direction. She made her recital debut at N.Y.’s Carnegie Recital Hall in 1985. On Dec. 21, 1987, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and continued to make appearances there until 1994. She portrayed Mozart’s Annius at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich in 1986, returning there as Cherubino in 1989. After appearing as Handel’s Sextus at the Paris Opéra in 1987, she sang Cherubino and Zerlina at the Vienna State Opera in 1989. In 1992 she sang Cherubino at the Opéra de la Bastille in Paris and Marina at the San Francisco Opera. She appeared as Idamante at the Salzburg Festival in 1994. Following an engagement as Fricka in Das Rheingold at the Dallas Opera in 1998, she sang Nicklausse at the Florida Grand Opera in Miami in 1999. She also appeared as a soloist with various orchs. In 1987 she married James Morris.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire