Suzanne Hendrix-Case

Mezzo-soprano Suzanne Hendrix-Case, DMA, is associate professor of voice and vocology at the University of Northern Iowa. In addition to her teaching, she is also an active performer. Recognized for her “piquant mezzo” (Opera News) and "one-of-a kind richness” (kcmetropolis.org), she has worked at many of the world’s most prominent opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Oper Frankfurt, Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Seattle Opera. She is known for the Wagnerian scope of her voice, and has participated in Der Ring des Nibelungen at five major opera companies.

Dr. Hendrix-Case is scheduled to make her Metropolitan Opera debut as Sotopenre in Philip Glass’s Akhnaten. She is a former member of the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper, where she made her company debut as a Flowermaiden in Parsifal, and also sang the role of Larina in Eugene Onegin. Other career highlights include Zulma in L’italiana in Algeri and the Fortune Teller in Strauss's Arabella with Santa Fe Opera; and La zia Principessa and Zita in Puccini's Il Trittico with Oper Frankfurt. Regional credits include roles with Hawaii Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Memphis, and Wichita Grand Opera. She has also covered a variety of leading roles at major opera houses including roles in Il Trovatore, Das Rheingold, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Wozzeck at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Madama Butterfly, Nabucco, and Elektra at Wiener Staatsoper; and Das Rheingold, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung at Seattle Opera.

Appearing in concert as both a recitalist and soloist with orchestra, Dr. Hendrix-Case has recently performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony in the Verdi Requiem, and with the State University of New York, Potsdam, Crane School of Music Orchestra and Choirs for their performance of Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky, conducted by Antony Walker. She has had the privilege of working with some of the best conductors and directors in the world including Stephen Wadsworth, Asher Fisch, David Charles Abell, Tomer Zvulun, Corrado Rovaris, Karen Kamensek, Ingo Metzmacher, Francesca Zambello, Louis Langrée, and Dieter Dorn, among others. Dr. Hendrix-Case can be heard on the Seattle Opera recording of Die Walküre, as well as seen in the documentary My Own Private Ring.

An alumna of the University of Northern Iowa, Dr. Hendrix-Case earned both her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music while studying under Dr. Jean McDonald. She completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory where she studied with Dr. Anne DeLaunay. She also participated in the Merola Young Artist Program at San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera Young Artist Program, and Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist Program. Dr. Hendrix-Case has won numerous awards, including the 2012 George London Foundation - Kirsten Flagstad Award, and top prize in the 2017 New York Wagner Society competition, as well as awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and Sullivan Foundation. She was also a finalist in the Seattle Opera International Wagner Competition.