Member
Contact Information
sfatta@post.harvard.eduhttps://www.suzannefatta.com
Location
Buffalo, New York
Early Music Skills & Interests
Voice - Alto, Voice - Baritone, Voice - Bass, Conductor, Harp, Voice - Mezzo-Soprano, Voice - TenorEarly Music Affiliations
Concert Producer, Conductor, Educator, Instrument Maker/Repairer, Music Librarian, Musicologist, Opera Director, Performer
Biography
Musicologist, Contralto and Arts Administrator Suzanne Fatta is the Founder and Director of The Women of Vivaldi, the only dedicated early music vocal ensemble in Western New York, and one of the few true all female choirs – including female Tenors, Baritones and Basses – in the country; and early music trio Pavana with voice, and all early plucked & strummed instruments.
Suzanne quickly became one of the most in-demand arts professionals in Buffalo since she returned to the States after 5 years in England, where she studied historical performance practice with Grammy-winning John Potter, Peter Seymour, and world famous soprano Lynne Dawson. As a very low Contralto, Suzanne sings Bass with the world-famous Vivaldi's Women choir (dir. Richard Vendome) in Oxford UK, and pioneers the use of low female voices in opera often taking lead Baritone roles in Baroque operas. Harvard-educated, her Lecture-Recitals (selected by OPERA America as one of the top 15 National Opera Week 2014 events in the nation) are sell-out WNY audience favorites.
Possessing a unique and powerful voice, Suzanne is a Baritone (Tiefer Alt/ Contralto Profondo/ Oktavista) based in Buffalo, NY, performing in top venues in the US, Canada, England, Scotland, France, Malta, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Stateside, Ms. Fatta sings with some of the top organizations in WNY such as Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Vocális Chamber Choir, Sotto Voce Vocal Collective, The Buffalo Chamber Players, QED, Camerata di Sant'Antonio, Nickel City Opera, Opera Sacra, Harmonia Chamber Singers, Buffalo Master Chorale, OperaBuffs of WNY, and The Opera Foundation of Buffalo. Suzanne sang the Tenor and Alto solos in Bach Weihnachtsoratorium completing the cycle in early 2019. In early 2017 Suzanne headlined the Vivaldi WinterFest with Music Niagara performing motets, cantatas and arias by Vivaldi; she debuted at Rochester Early Music Festival and the Fredonia Bach & Beyond Baroque Music Festival some time earlier. Suzanne co-conducted the North Eastern Early Music Forum's Venetian Christmas Music workshop, and was also a mentor, rehearsal director and vocal coach for Vivaldi's Women Summer School.
Having studied Vocal Performance, Musicology and Historical Performance Practice at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (Joint BA With Honors), Suzanne has done doctoral studies at the Eastman School of Music with Paul O'Dette, and the University of York; her focus is vocal music of the 16th and 17th centuries. In addition, she has a Masters in Medieval Studies and Religion from Harvard University, where she won a university-wide Teaching Award of Distinction for a course on Jazz and Music of the Swing Era
Voice teachers include Tony Arnold, Jacqueline Quirk, Yvonne Seymour, Robert Vehar, Gerald Crawford and La Scala mezzo Genia Las. Conductors/ directors she's performed with are Doreen Rao, Atis Bankas, Philip Thorby, Grant Cooper, Roland E. Martin, Daniel Bassin, Nadja Zwiener, Will Todd Trio, Robert Shoup, Lorna Cooke de Varon, Lisa Goode Crawford, Steven Plank and Frank Scinta. And Suzanne has had coachings with the Grammy-winning Tallis Scholars, Robert Hollingworth, Francis Steele, Black Hair Ensemble and more.
Ms. Fatta’s operatic roles, consort work and solos have taken her around North America and Europe. Suzanne has performed with and been Choral Director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; she also served as both Alto and Tenor Section Leaders with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus and Chamber Singers under the BPO. She is a featured singer in the documentary Peter Ackroyd’s Venice for SkyArts TV across Europe. A highly experienced performer, Suzanne's skills as a Contralto Soloist and Baritone Ensemblist are now in demand in New York; she is currently working with some of the top composers in the country to commission new Contralto repertoire, and to develop world-premiere operas.
An avid actress, Ms. Fatta is the Co-Founder of HIDden Theatre, a historical drama troupe started at The York Mystery Plays and debuted at The British Museum. While particularly gifted in Medieval drama and Victorian burlesque, Suzanne's passion for acting ranges through plays, opera and operetta, masked Greek drama, one-woman performance art, voice-overs, commercials and other forms.
