Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School of Music. Her teachers have included Cynthia Hoffmann and Marlena Malas. She studied the piano for 13 years. She was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera's National Council Auditions, and also a recipient of the Schwabacher Award from the Merola Program of San Francisco Opera. Graham made her international début at Covent Garden in 1994, playing Massenet's Chérubin. She has also premièred several roles in contemporary operas, including John Harbison's The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker), Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen Prejean), and Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy (Sondra Finchley). Graham is a noted champion of the French song repertoire and of songs by contemporary American composers, including Ned Rorem and Lowell Liebermann. Graham made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in April 2003, and a recording of this recital was later released. Graham sang "Bless This House" at George W. Bush's second inauguration on January 20, 2005, and Schubert's "Ave Maria" at the nationally televised funeral mass for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts on August 29, 2009. She is a US delegate for UNESCO. Opera roles Her operatic roles include: Dominick Argento The Aspern Papers (Sonia) 1990; (Tina) 2013 Samuel Barber Vanessa (Erika) Alban Berg Lulu (Countess Geschwitz) Metropolitan Opera 2015 Hector Berlioz Béatrice et Bénédict (Béatrice) 1997 La damnation de Faust (Marguerite) La Scala, Metropolitan Opera November 2008 Les Troyens (Didon) Théâtre du Châtelet, (Paris); Metropolitan Opera; San Francisco Opera Marc Blitzstein Regina (Regina Giddens) 2018 Christoph Willibald Gluck Iphigénie en Tauride (Iphigénie) Alexander Goehr Arianna (Arianna) Charles Gounod Roméo et Juliette (Stephano) Seattle Opera George Frideric Handel Alcina (Ruggerio) Xerxes (Serse – Title Role), San Francisco Opera Ariodante Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera John Harbison The Great Gatsby (Jordan Baker) 1999 Jake Heggie Dead Man Walking (Sister Helen Prejean) Three Decembers (Madeline Mitchell), Opera San Jose Franz Lehár The Merry Widow Hanna Glawari (the title character) Jules Massenet Werther (Charlotte) Chérubin Royal Opera House Claudio Monteverdi L'incoronazione di Poppea (Poppea) Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Minerva) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Così fan tutte (Dorabella) Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira) Lyric Opera of Chicago Idomeneo (Idamante) Houston Grand Opera, Palais Garnier, Paris La clemenza di Tito (Sesto)