Suzanne Rigden, an upcoming coloratura soprano from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is now working as a young artist with l'Atelier lyrique de l'Opéra de Montréal. Her main stage roles this season have included First Spirit and cover for the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, the Shepherd Boy in Tosca and will cover La Fée in Cendrillon. She also played Gertrude in Nelligan, an opera by the Québec composer André Gagnon as a collaboration between l'Atelier Lyrique de l'ODM and École nationale de théâtre du Canada. She was also featured in many concerts including Noël à l’opéra with the Orchestre Métropolitain and was excited that she was able to return home to sing Bach's B Minor Mass with the Halifax Camarata Singers and Symphony Nova Scotia in March.

Suzanne has partaken in some international competitions and has been quite successful. She has competed in the George London Competition, Metropolitan Opera Competition, where she won the district round, and received the Audience Choice Award as well as the First Encouragement Award at the Regional Level. She has gone on to semi finals in the Ningbo International Vocal Competition and finals in Spazio Musica competition in Italy.

This July she will be traveling overseas to Tel Aviv, Israel where she will sing the lead role, Marie, in La fille du Régiment with the International Vocal Arts Institute. There she will have the opportunity to coach with Metropolitan Opera staff. In August she will return to Montréal to continue with the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute and her second year with l'Opéra de Montréal.

Her training at Coastal dance has stood her well in her career, as she has played many roles where she has been able to use it. Including a role where she was cast as a Russian ballerina who had been famous for her Giselle! Thank you for everything, Coastal!
 

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