Canadian mezzo-soprano Susanne Holmes studied at the Royal College of Music, London and went on to train at the Vlaamse Opera Studio, Belgium. In 2006, she was the recipient of the Donna Steinacher award for Music Performance.
Recent opera performances include the title role in Iolanthe; Suzuki, Madama Butterfly and Pitti-Sing, The Mikado for Co-Opera Co.; Hansel, Hansel and Gretel for Co-opera Co. and Opera Studio Oxford; Anna, Intermezzo for the Buxton Festival; Papagena, Second Lady and Second Boy in The Magic Flute for Co-opera Co.; Mercedes, Carmen for Co-opera Co.; Celia in Haydn's La Fedeltà Premiata for Opera in Concert, Toronto; The House of the Sleeping Beauties (Defoort), La Monnaie, Brussels; Dido, Dido and Aeneas with Opera Erratica, Toronto; Der Trommler, Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Ullmann); Nympha , L'Euridice (Caccini); Cousin Hebe, HMS Pinafore; and Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress. Susanne has also covered the title role in Mignon (Thomas), Hamor, Jephtha and Bostana, The Barber of Baghdad (Cornelius) for the Buxton Festival and Enrichetta di Francia, I Puritani for Grange Park Opera. Recent Oratorio and concert performances include Piacere in Handel's Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno for Toronto's Handelfest 2011, Micah in Handel's Samson, the UK premiere of Steve Reich's Know what is above you, Beethoven's Mass in C, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle and Haydn's Harmoniemesse (both for Buxton Festival Opera); Bach’s St. Johannes Passion, Mass in b minor, and Weihnacht-Oratorium; Handel’s Messiah and Dixit Dominus; and Mahler’s Symphony IV.
Recordings include The House of the Sleeping Beauties (Defoort) with ASKO/Schoenberg Orchestra and Patrick Davin, Conductor and Confitebor tibi (Wesley) with the Portsmouth Choral Union and David Gostick, Conductor.