Home for the Holidays

Finally back East!!

Tonight I finished the programs for my two concerts here in Dartmouth and Halifax. Phew it can be a lot of work, but it sure is fun at the same time! The first concert is a compilation of Religious Christmas tunes and I will be performing with my fiance, my mom and my dad (my musical family!!) and the second one is a more traditional recital style concert with works by Rossini, Mozart, Faure, Strauss, Barber and the list goes on!

If you are reading this and you are in town, come on out!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

"Home for the Holidays"
Woodlawn United Church
December 22, 2011 at 7pm
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia


OR


"Boundless, a recital"
Lilian Piercy Hall
Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts
Chebucto Rd
December 27, 2011 at 2pm
Halifax, Nova Scotia

New Headshot by Simon Bonnallie

New York in December

Wow, what a festive place around the holidays. I thought New York was lovely, but this is the first time with all of the pretty white lights, smells of christmas trees. I am loving NY!

That being said New York at this time of year is like being at the mall, which can be very tiring. I had an audition this morning, shopped around a bit for some gifts and then met with a friend around the park. Thats not a crazy day in terms of my normal life- but in New York it can truly tire even the youngest of hearts.

I had some wonderful auditions here this time and again have more exciting news to announce when I am allowed to announce! When you get wonderful things in this business you often have to keep it quiet until things are officially on paper- or in some cases when the season is announced. phew! Its sometimes hard to hold the excitement in, but alas, you can tell only your nearest and dearest so that the word doesn't leak!

Anyway, I would have to say that these last two times have been worth all the hustle and bustle. I am officially on holidays... well except for the two concerts I need to be learning... make that three...  but for tonight- it is a night off!!

Happy Holidays to one and all!

Suzanne

PS. there will be a new headshot soon, so stay tuned! (Im having a hard time deciding!)

Tis' the season

Well the audition season is still in full swing, as there are competitions, yap's, agents etc. to be sung for.  Most think it is just November, but it often bleeds well into December and this year it will bring me all the way to December 21st!

I am leaving this morning for a week in the Toronto area for the District auditions for the MET competition in Buffalo, Messiah in London, then back to Montreal for a day and then to New York for a couple more auditions before heading home for the holidays. 

It is a busy time of year, but always worth it! 

I have good news to share but I have to keep it quiet for a little while longer... so keep posted until I am able to announce officially!! :)

Oh, but to keep you up-to-date on some more exciting things that have happened in the past few weeks: I sang a concert with Ensemble Caprice in Montreal at the Salle Bourgie (beautiful new concert hall associated with the Musée des beaux arts). It was a concert of Witches and Queens, so naturally I was singing the two arias of the Queen of the Night and also an aria from Haydn's Armida. What a wonderful group to work with. Matthias Maute was the director, and it was such a blast to work with the entire orchestra! Kudos!

Well, happy holiday season to all of you, wherever you are!

DJ Aristotle vs Opera

Want a catch up? Or perhaps a "mash up"?

What an interesting gig I had tonight! I filled in for Ambur Braid tonight at a Corporate Event in Montreal, where I sang with DJ Aristotle from Toronto. What a new and exciting musical experience! 

It was for Land Rover - Jaguar and they were up for something new and hip to launch their newest car. Ambur and Aristotle had worked out some beats with Opera on top, and it was really cool. If I could do it again, I think I would be more creative, but for a first go, I think it was a success! The President of the company seemed to like it, so its most important to keep him happy!

I am up for more exciting musical events to come! 

Suzanne... perhaps I should think of a hip Dj name... ;) 

Carmen

Cheers!!

I am in Orford, Quebec rehearsing for a touring version of Carmen with a wonderful cast of Canadian singers! We are enjoying the peaceful surroundings. I can't believe how wonderful it is to open up your door and have a river flowing through the backyard. Its also nice because all you can do is focus on your music and yourself. No televisions, sometimes no internet and we even lost power a couple of times due to the storm!

Anyway, I am loving the gypsy feeling!

After this rehearsal period.... its vacation time!!!

Grande Finale Reviews!

Soprano Suzanne Rigden, 25, who a pitch-perfect friend informs me emitted a perfect high F when she sang Rosina in the first-cast Barbiere, was a bright, fresh, and delicious Blonde in her duet from Mozart’sAbduction From the Seraglio


---http://www.sfcv.org/reviews/merola-opera-program/merolas-grand-promise

....and the belly-shaking comic genius of Suzanne Rigden (Elvira)

Chen and Rigden had a good turn in the Oxmin-Blonde duet from "Abduction from the Seraglio

---http://listserv.bccls.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind1108c&L=OPERA-L&D=0&P=145863&D=1

 "Ich gehe doch rate ich dir" from Entführung, Suzanne Rigden was spunky as Blonde and Peixin Chen a loveable buffoon as Osmin...Suzanne Rigden managed to be a mousy Elvira, never upstaging Renée Rapier's sassy Isabella




---http://operatattler.typepad.com/opera/2011/08/merola-grand-finale-2011.html


Suzanne Rigden and Peixin Chen paired for a lively Mozartian banter from the Abduction from the seraglio with the most colorful contrast, her crystalline voice fluttering around his barreling, cavernous tone.


---http://sfist.com/2011/08/22/sfist_reviews_merola_grand_finale.php


The 2nd half opened with bass Peixin Chen & sopranoSuzanne Rigden hamming it up shamelessly in the soprano/bass duel from Entfürung.


---http://nffo.blogspot.com/2011/08/merola-grand-finale-2011.html


Thus, the selection that probably fared better than any of the others involved the synthesis of a solid score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with an appropriately contemporary dramatic perspective in Conde’s staging.  This was the duet “Ich gehe doch rate ich dir” from the second act of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, in which Blonde’s English blood comes to a full boil when Osmin tries to treat her as his slave.  Peixin Chen’s bass voice was as hardy as it had been in his Basilio in thesecond cast of Barbiere, while Suzanne Rigden endowed Blonde with the same rebellious sass that had spiced her Rosina in the first cast.  She then kept that character in high gear in her portrayal of Elvira at the end of the program, in which all of the Merolini performed the first act finale of Rossini’s L'italiana in Algeri.


---http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/merola-grand-finale-2011


Though Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera I really have no pleasure in hearing, Suzanne Rigden and Pei Xin Chin were both in excellent form for the comedic duet. Rigden has a wonderful stage presence to match her bright, strong voice and Chen's journeyman-like work ethic and booming bass made him an audience favorite.


---http://abeastinajungle.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html


One more to add of Barber: 


Rigden went on to have an excellent overall night, with not only strong high-notes but a performance that reminded me of Reese Witherspoon's better comedic outings. 


--- http://abeastinajungle.blogspot.com/search/label/Merola

Merola Grand Finale!!

Woohoo!! Another review! What a great summer this has been!! :) I love San Francisco- and will miss it. So today I will run around the city trying to see the rest of the sights. Here is a review to check out:


Thus, the selection that probably fared better than any of the others involved the synthesis of a solid score by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with an appropriately contemporary dramatic perspective in Conde’s staging.  This was the duet “Ich gehe doch rate ich dir” from the second act of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, in which Blonde’s English blood comes to a full boil when Osmin tries to treat her as his slave.  Peixin Chen’s bass voice was as hardy as it had been in his Basilio in the second cast of Barbiere, while Suzanne Rigden endowed Blonde with the same rebellious sass that had spiced her Rosina in the first cast.  She then kept that character in high gear in her portrayal of Elvira at the end of the program

Continue reading on Examiner.com Merola Grand Finale 2011 - San Francisco classical music | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/merola-grand-finale-2011#ixzz1VgMeYSp8

Countdown is on...

Well it is my birthday officially and seeing as I sing almost every year on my birthday, why break the tradition?! I really am quite happy to sing on my birthday and especially this year! This year we will be having our dress rehearsal with the San Francisco Opera Orchestra on the mainstage of the War Memorial Building from 6:30-9:30. I believe it is a some-what open dress rehearsal for some donors, and I just can't wait!!

I will write a wrap up post once I am home and let all of the information settle in on how everything was here....but in two words... Merola was mind blowing. I have truly learned more than I could ever imagine here, and I now know so much about my own voice and who I want to be as a performer. I couldn't be happier!

Plus, San Francisco is an amazing city!

Masterclasses and reviews

So last night we had a wonderful masterclass with Warren Jones. I was lucky enough to sing the Queen of the Night for him (second aria) and I learned so many wonderful little tricks. We worked on the forward vowels, the consonnats being crips as well as those nasty triplets! We have had three little mini masterclasses with him and then the one last public one, and I just felt like he had so many new and wonderful things to say. He was able to pinpoint exactly your problem and that one thing fixed any other problems. A great artist right there.


Oh and in other news, I messed up the time of the Grand Finale- it is at 7:30pm on Saturday August 20th. It is going to be a fabulous show! We just finished our Sitzprobe today!

Lastly, I found one more review!!

"Nary a note of ornamentation was missing from Suzanne Ridgen’s rivulets of notes pulsating forward giving wit and intelligence to a lovely Rosina...none holds a candle to Suzanne Ridgen’s lovely Rosina, especially when she’s got forks stuck in her hair to emulate the rays of the Statue of Liberty while holding a candleabra as Liberty’s torch"

http://www.starkinsider.com/2011/08/most-fun-all-summer-merolas-il-barbiere-di-siviglia.html


With the end in sight, I am feeling so blessed to have been here at Merola. I have learned so much and am crossing my fingers for the Adlers... but I shouldn't get too excited because everyone here is fabulous in their own ways! It is very exciting to have met all of these wonderful people and to know that these people will be the stars of tomorrow!! :)

Thank you for everything San Francisco!

Looking forward

Well, Barber is over, but that doesn't mean it is time to slack here at the Merola program!

We have the Merola Grande Finale just around the bend and it is usually is the determing factor for the Adler Fellowships... so it has been getting just slightly more tense around the opera building... Oh, and the fact that they have started rehearsals for Heart of a Solider means there are many wonderful people around, so now is not the time to look too "scruffy".

The Merola Grande Finale is going to be a wonderful show. There are some wonderful excerpts being performed and it will show-case many wonderful people. There are works from Dr Atomik, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, I Puritani, Italian Girl in Algiers.. and the list goes on!

Get your tickets soon! It is going to be an exciting show. It is at the War Memorial Opera House (Mainstage) on August 20th at 8pm.

Suzanne

Barber reviews

This article is so well deserved for Jonathan Michie. Bravo!! San Francisco Chronicle:


As Rosina, soprano Suzanne Rigden revealed a remarkable gift for stratospheric coloratura. She larded her showpiece aria, "Una voce poco fa," with a wealth of impeccable passagework that started high and then just kept going higher, with pointed, note-perfect placement.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/05/DD4G1KJV43.DTL#ixzz1UE3lmXfu
 
 
 
Suzanne Rigden (Rosina) has a dizzying ability to sing high notes, her coloratura technique is impressive.
 
http://www.classissima.com/en/news/384744-merola-opera-program's-barber-of-seville-(thursday)/
 
 
Suzanne Rigden, a soprano Rosina, has a fearsome coloratura. Hearing her pick off all those high notes was like watching a bowler make a strike every time.



http://nffo.blogspot.com/2011/08/merola-opera-barbiere-1st-cast.html



Suzanne Rigden’s Rosina jumped through all of her virtuoso hoops without ever showing a sign of strain



Continue reading on Examiner.com The Merolini romp with Rossini - San Francisco classical music
Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/the-merolini-romp-with-rossini#ixzz1UEBEWiWk




I love this show. I have enjoyed every moment of performing it. :)

Reviews to come...

Here is one review of the Barber of Seville "Red" Cast

http://www.examiner.com/classical-music-in-san-francisco/the-merolini-romp-with-rossini

Barber of Seville

Well the first show is finished!

I am now lying in bed and can't get back to sleep because I am still excited about the show last night! All of my colleagues are great and I am so excited to get to share another evening with them on the stage! It has truly been a pleasure working with them and I really do enjoy every moment. It is nice to know that at the point when you could be most nervous, you relax and enjoy! I suppose that is the reason why we keep doing it! It is so great to realize how in the moment you can be when you are performing. I have been recently reading the book "Talent is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin and can't get out of my mind all of the comments he says about focused purposeful practice. The hard part about that, is that you can never recreate the feeling you have when you are on stage and have an audience. It immediately changes things! So you can never practise how to deal with the nerves of being on stage, so you just have to do it!

Here is an article to read about the Merola program if you are interested!


http://www.sfcv.org/article/me​rola-artists-go-the-distance


Have a wonderful Friday. I am going to try and get back to bed, and enjoy the physical exhaustion I have from last night! Thank you for all of your support!

Suzanne a.k.a. Rosina of liberty!

Merola!

I love San Fancisco!

I have been in San Francisco now for over a month and I am loving every minute! I have been to many wonderful masterclasses with Matthew Epstein, Martin Katz, Cathy Cathcart and the list goes on. We have auditioned for many wonderful people and opera companies including San Francisco, COC, Colorado, LA Opera, Seattle Young Artists to name a few! The coaches are phenominal, the singers.... wow... I am so blessed to be at this program. I learn so much from my peers that it is incredible. We are just getting into tech week of the Barber of Seville! I will be performing with my cast : Jonathan Michie as Figaro, Phillipe Sly as Bartolo, Adam Lau as Basilio, Heath Huberg as the Count Almaviva, Deborah Nansteel as Berta, Suchan Kim as Fiorello, and Cooper Nolan as Ambrogio.

If you are in San Francisco, come to the Herbst Theatre on August 4th at 8pm or August 6th at 2pm! It is going to be a great show, and if you have the opportunity I suggest going to both shows- as it is completely different! We have different characters and different staging.

I want to also thank all of the people who donate to the Merola program. Without you, this wouldn't be possible, and it truly has changed my life! Thank you!! :)

Sincerely,

Suzanne aka Rosina the soprano version for the next couple of weeks :)

Long time no blog!

Well,

2010-2011 season has almost gone by and I have not been blogging! Does that mean it was busy, or slow...? I guess I will have to let the blog reader to figure that out!

So, to start of the year I sang the Page Boy in Rigoletto. It was a great opera, staging etc. Its funny how the little roles are sometimes the most important to keep the plot of an opera going. The un-sung heros... although in this case I guess they do sing.. just less than the others!

After this it was Audition time... which was pretty exciting as I spent a week in New York and had some exciting things happen. Highlights would be singing the callbacks for Merola and MAW. I sang for Marilyn Horne and it was supposed to be my last audition and I went into the audition with the perfect audition mentality... "I dare you to send me home" (and then of course, I sang the best I had all week!) Oh... and at 4am on my way back from New York on the bus, I found out that I got into Merola.... I didn't know what to do with myself as I was just over-joyed.. but I couldn't call family etc... (Just so you know, they don't do their calls at that time, it was that I didn't turn on my canadian cell phone until I crossed the border)

In terms of concerts, we didn't have a whole lot going on, but I did get to perform a czech concert and a mozart christmas concert with L'Orchestre des Jeunes de Montreal with Louis Lavigeur.

December came around and Aleacanto the tour came! We traveled all over Quebec with a touring show of arias and ensembles, dancing and fun!! So that took us right up until New Years.

I had two or three days off and then Werther rehearsals started up! What an amazing experience. I met some wonderful people. One of which is Michèle Losier. She helped me through my little nerves, tricks of the trade and gave me lots of great advice. I worked with a wonderful team and I was very lucky to do so! What an honor!

During the run of Werther I was preparing for Alcina in New York! Phew! I was getting tired at this point, but luckily I love it! Alcina was (if you can believe it) my first Italian Opera in full. I had six wonderful weeks of rehearsal, exercise, eating well and spending time in the libraries of New York! Morgana was a great role and we had a really theatrical staging of it, as our director Erwin Maas came from the theatre but I am sure he will have a great career in Opera as well!

I most recently got back from a week in Toronto on an exchange with the Canadian Opera Company. What a great idea. We were able to collaborate with the artists there and as well partake in personal training, lessons and coachings.

At the moment now I am preparing for a concert with Chants Libres as well as heading to New York to sing in a Gala Concert for IVAI in the honor of Deborah Voigt.

That brings us up to date! If you want more details: check out my website www.suzannerigden.com