Authors
Suzanne Vinnik
Soprano, Suzanne Vinnik has appeared with some of the leading regional opera houses and international concert stages throughout her career and has been praised by the New York Times as a “voice notable for its dramatic nuance” and described by Opera News as “Refreshing…[With] beautifully molded, vividly communicative phrasing.”
Ms. Vinnik’s varied engagements have included performances at Florida Grand Opera as Violetta in La traviata at Nevada Opera Theatre, Opera North, and the Castleton Festival under the baton of the late Lorin Maazel as Musetta in La boheme; Pittsburgh Opera as Leïla in Les Pêcheurs de Perles and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel; Lyric Opera Virginia and Opera Las Vegas as Micaela in Carmen; and Opera Piccola San Antonio in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus & Eurydice.
Most recently, Ms. Vinnik made her Russian debut under the auspices of The US State Department in Moscow at The Stanislavsky Theater under the baton of Maestro Orbelian, SPASO House accompanied by Craig Rutenberg and The Saratov Opera & Ballet sharing the stage with fellow American and Russian singers; and performed in LoftOpera’s Verdi concerts in Brooklyn and New York City. This season she returned to the NJ Festival Orchestra in her role debut as Mimi in La boheme and appeared in numerous performance with Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Academy Symphony and with Opera Las Vegas. Ms. Vinnik adds the role of Nedda in I Pagliacci at Cedar Rapids Opera Theater to her diverse repertoire next season.
Other concert engagements have included the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s opening night gala, “Operatic Love”, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Rogue Valley Symphony throughout Oregon, and featured performances with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra (NRK), the Hoku Concert Series in Hawaii, the Red Scarf Society for the Performing Arts, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, the Ocean City Pops, and the Umbria Jazz Festival, in addition to appearances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. She was also featured as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Opera Orchestra in Auld Lang Syne III and in their concert featuring Jackie Evancho, and as a “Star of the Future” at the Kirsten Flagstad Festival.
Ms. Vinnik is a recipient of the Georg Solti Foundation Grant, the Olga Forrai Foundation Grant, and the Sullivan Foundation Career Development Award. She was a major prize winner in the Opera Index Inc. and the first prize winner in the New Jersey Verismo Opera Competition and American Prize for Opera for two years in a row. She received second prize in the Gerda Lissner International Competition, third prize from Liederkranz Foundation and Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, Audience Favorite & Fourth Prize from Palm Beach Opera and was an international finalist and award winner in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition. Other accolades include George London Foundation Encouragement Award, numerous prizes from the Marcello Giordani Foundation and various grants from The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Giulio Gari Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts and Nevada Arts Council.
She is an alumnus of the Opera Studio di Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Italy where she studied and performed under the tutelage of Renata Scotto. She holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from Texas Christian University with additional studies at Mannes College of Music.
In addition to singing, she is the founder of the popular Opera Diva Dress Collection (a network marketplace of over 6,200 female opera singers) and photographer.