Just after a few bars, it’s clear – this is a voice like a Scandinavian lake. The longer you look down in it, the more it starts to
shimmer in all colors imaginable.
Stuttgarter Zeitung
Susanna Levonen was born in Tampere, Finland and received her musical education at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, the Sibelius Academy and at the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg, from where she was awarded a Soloist Diploma in 1999. In the same year she made her concert début with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck, singing Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder.
Ms Levonen’s extensive concert repertoire includes a.o. Mahler’s 2nd symphony, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Rückertlieder, Beethoven’s 9th symphony, Berlioz’ Les Nuits d’Été, the soprano solo in Gösta Nystroem’s Sinfonia del mare, Sibelius’ Luonnotar and Kullervo and, with special mention; Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs, which she has performed in Salzburg, Trondheim, Kassel and Umeå with conductors Leo Hussain, Thomas Adès, Anu Tali and Kristjan Järvi. Other conductors with whom Ms Levonen has collaborated are Stefan Solyom, Rumon Gamba, Andrew Manze, Tobias Ringborg, Jin Wang, Staffan Larson, Benjamin Bayl a.o.
In 2001 Susanna appeared for the first time with NorrlandsOperan in Umeå, Sweden, singing Eboli in a concert performance of Verdi’s Don Carlos. Her acclaimed performance in this role led to a permanent contract with the company, which continues to this day.
Her broad repertoire and extensive vocal range (more than three octaves) gradually pointed her towards exploring the dramatic soprano repertoire, and in later years she has concentrated on the soprano repertoire while still maintaining her ability to shine dramatic mezzo parts, making her a true exponent of the Zwischenfach and in 2006 she was equally praised for her interpretation of The Foreign Princess in Rusalka (Cape Town and Umeå) as well as for her Dorabella in Così fan tutte (Hanoi and Umeå).
Other early operatic roles include Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Gertrude and Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia andAnemotis/Nyx in Hilding Rosenberg’s The Isle of Bliss, available on CD in Phono Suecia’s Modern Classic series. The recording, conducted by Kristjan Järvi, was awarded the Swedish Grammy for Best Classical Recording of 2004.
Susanna Levonen has in her career showed a pronounced interest in contemporary music and has been a frequent collaborator with many prominent composers such as Thomas Adès, Arvo Pärt, Svinn L Björnsson, Erland von Koch, Paula af Malmborg Ward and Tomas Lindahl.
In spring 2008 Susanna made her auspicious début as Salome at Malmö Opera, Sweden – a role that she later repeated in Kassel in 2009. In 2009-2010 Susanna sang the title role in the Scandinavian première of Philippe Boesman’s Miss Julie in Umeå and Malmö followed by Selma in Paul Ruder’s Dancer in the Dark when Kasper Holten’s production moved to NorrlandsOperan in autumn 2010.
Engagements in 2011 include Sieglinde (Die Walküre) for Wermland Opera in Karlstad, Sweden, Amneris (Aida) at Vlaamse Opera and Marie in Wozzek for her home stage, NorrlandsOperan in Umeå and in 2012 she will sing her first Carmen, also for NorrlandsOperan.
Susanna has been awarded a number of prestigious awards and prizes, such as The Jenny Lind Award and several grants from The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. At the 2001 Internationaler Wettbewerb für Liedkunst in Stuttgart, Susanna was awarded Der Sängerpreis by a jury consisting of Tom Krause, Gundula Janowiz and Ralf Gothóni, among others.
Susanna Levonen is a soprano whose powerfully dramatic voice was suited to her sex-bomb Foreign Princess. She gave the production a
dramatically needed shot of electricity.
Cape Argus, South Africa
