“Impressive coloratura soprano” (The New York Times) Elizabeth Sutphen has garnered praise for her sparkling voice and her ability to “soar deftly through stratospheric trills and arpeggios” (Financial Times). Praised as “Exquisite” by The Guardian, Ms. Sutphen recently made her debut at Glyndebourne Festival Opera 2018 as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. Ms. Sutphen looks forward to the 2018-19 season with her return to Oper Frankfurt as Zerbinetta in their production of Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and as Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes, as well as her debut with the Houston Grand Opera as Faustina/Angela Tiepolo/Annetta/Louisa Grahl/Brigida Banti in their world premier of The Phoenix written by Tarik O’Regan, with libretto by John Caird who will also direct. As an “astonishing mature member” (Frankfurter Neue Presse) of the Opera Studio at Oper Frankfurt, Ms. Sutphen’s past two seasons at Oper Frankfurt have included the roles of Lisa in Bellini’s La sonnambula, Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, as well as roles in new productions of Xerxes as Romilda, Benjamin Britten’s Paul Bunyan directed by Brigitte Fassbaender as Tiny Bunyan, and Honegger’s Jeanne D’Arc Au Bucher as La Vierge. 2017 also saw Ms. Sutphen in her debut at Kentucky Opera singing the role of Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos.

A recent alumna of the Juilliard School, Ms. Sutphen has also made professional debuts on the concert stage. In 2017 she made her French debut with the Orchestre Nationale de Lille, performing an evening of Bernstein favorites. In 2018 she debuted in Austria with the Vienna Boys Choir as the soprano soloist in Carmina Austriaca and performed Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Further concert performances have included Handel’s Messiah in her debut with Milwaukee Symphony and her first performances of Orff’s Carmina Burana with Allentown Symphony.

In the 2014 and 2015 seasons Ms. Sutphen joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and as Gerdine Young Artist, where she made her 2015 debut as Bianca in Puccini’s La rondine under the baton of Music Director Stephen Lord. In 2016 she returned to the company as a Richard Gaddes Festival Artist, where she was heard as Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos.

During her time at The Juilliard School, Ms. Sutphen earned critical acclaim for her performances as La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon under the leadership of Emmanuel Villaume, and as Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto led by Julian Wachner with Juilliard415, the school’s principal period-instrument ensemble. In 2015, she joined Juilliard415 in performances with Maestro Nicholas McGegan in Telemann’s Die Tageszeiten at Alice Tully Hall before touring with the ensemble to Vancouver and Berkeley, CA, where they performed with The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Additional performances at Juilliard include her Alice Tully Hall debut in Juilliard’s Wednesday at One series and covering Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail in the Met+Juilliard production of Concert of Comic Operas under the baton of James Levine. Further performances included Suor Genevieve in Suor Angelica and Frasquita in Carmen with Aspen Opera Theater Center, and Queen of the Night in Mozart’s in selections of Die Zauberflöte with Albany Symphony and New York City’s Little Orchestra Society.

A frequent grant recipient and competition winner, Ms. Sutphen has been recognized by the Sullivan Foundation with a Career Development Grant, The Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition (2nd prize), The George London Foundation (Encouragement Award), The Dallas Opera Guild National Vocal Competition (Finalist), The Richard Gaddes Fund for Young Singers at OTSL, The Novick Career Grant at The Juilliard School, The National Society of Arts and Letters (1st Prize), The McCammon Voice Competition (Female Encouragement Award), FAVA Grand Concours Competition (2nd Prize); Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions (District Winner) and The Gerda Lissner Song Competition. In 2017 she represented Oper Frankfurt in the prestigious Stella Maris Vocal Competition (second place). In addition to earning both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Juilliard, Ms. Sutphen has received additional training as a resident artist at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Neumarkt, Germany (2015) and at the Sir George Solti Accademia for Bel Canto performance (2016). In August of 2018, she looks forward to representing The United States in Placido Domingo’s Operalia.