Elizabeth SUTPHEN
“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 debuted with the Spoleto Festival as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. In 2025-2026, she joins Opera San Antonio as Rosina in their production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as Papagena in a concert of Die Zauberflöte, and MidAmerica Productions as the soprano soloist in Fauré's Requiem at Carnegie Hall. She also sings the role of Shprintse in a workshop of Weiser’s Tevye’s Daughters with American Lyric Theater. Next season, Ms. Sutphen will make her house debut as Zerbinetta in Opera Omaha’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and sing as Uranie/Venus in Les Surprises de L’amour with Opera Lafayette.
Ms. Sutphen made multiple debuts in the 2023-24 season, which included performances at Arizona Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and The Glimmerglass Festival as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance and Aveline Mortimer in Elizabeth Cree. She also joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera covering Hirt in Tannhäuser. Ms. Sutphen has sung such roles as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier (Salzburger Landestheater, Glyndebourne Festival), Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes (Detroit Opera), Valencienne in The Merry Widow (Palm Beach Opera), Chrisann Brennan in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Atlanta Opera), Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos (Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Oper Frankfurt), and Faustina in O’Regan/Caird’s The Phoenix and Gilda in Rigoletto (Houston Grand Opera). Ms. Sutphen was also praised by Schmopera for her “impeccable comedic delivery” and “ability to sing flawlessly...with dexterity and finesse” for her Des Moines Metro Opera debut as the delightfully zany La Folie in Rameau’s Platée.
Elizabeth joined the International Opern Studio with Oper Frankfurt in 2016 and has enjoyed returning to their roster as a guest every season since her graduation. Roles at Oper Frankfurt have included Lisetta in Rossini’s La gazzetta, Romilda and Atalanta in Handel’s Xerxes, Tiny Bunyan in Britten’s Paul Bunyan under the direction of Brigitte Fassbender, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, The Blessed Virgin in Honegger’s Jean D’arc au Bûcher, and Lisa in La Sonnambula.
Ms. Sutphen has enjoyed many memorable moments on the concert and orchestral stage, including as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Weihnachts-Oratorium with the Tiroler Festspiele, in a solo recital with her dear friend and collaborator John Arida through The Dallas Opera’s Sculpting Sounds, and with the Orchestre Nationale de Lille in a several week run of an all-Bernstein program, the Vienna Boy Choir singing as the soprano soloist in Carmina Austriaca, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra singing Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and The Saint Louis Symphony as the featured soloist in their 2019 New Year’s Gala. She joined Juilliard415 touring Telemann’s Die Tageszeiten under the baton of Nicholas McGegan, performing with the Philharmonia Baroque. Elizabeth has performed Queen of the Night in concert with The Albany Symphony and New York’s Little Orchestra Society, and has sung Messiah with the Milwaukee Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony.
On screen, Ms. Sutphen wrote, directed, and starred in her viral opera-themed comedy show, “Late Nite with Liz”, as one of the inaugural video creators - and the most-viewed content - of the Dallas Opera’s TDO Network during the pandemic in 2020. She can also be seen on DVD and Blu-ray through Unitel in Handel’s Xerxes with Oper Frankfurt.
Elizabeth is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. 2012, M.M. 2014) as well as a proud alumna of The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (Gerdine Young Artist 2014, 2015/ Richard Gaddess Festival Artist 2016), The Internationale Meistersinger Akadamie (2015) and the Solti Accademia (2016). She has enjoyed successes on many competition stages including a Career Development Grant from the Sullivan Foundation, 2nd Prize in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, an Encouragement Award from the George London Foundation, and 2nd Prize from the FAVA Grand Concours Competition. She was a finalist in The Dallas Opera Competition and a semi-finalist at Operalia in Lisbon, Portugal. She represented Oper Frankfurt in the Stella Maris Competition where she won Second Place, and she was awarded the Novick Career Grant from the Juilliard School.