Suzie Purkis began her vocal training at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire where she won a scholarship and many prizes. She went on to complete the Opera Works course at English National Opera and has since been employed by Diva Opera, Buxton Festival Opera, Kentish Opera, Heritage Opera and Birmingham Opera Company. Operatic roles include Carmen/Carmen – in English, Mother/Amahl and the Night Visitors, Juno/Semele, Ottavia/L’incoronazione di Poppea and First Witch/Dido and Aeneas.
With a particular interest in performing new music, Suzie has had music written especially for her by many composers and has been a soloist on several recordings and BBC radio broadcasts. She has performed opera in a swimming pool, in an ice rink during public skating hours and in a cage in a zoo on German television. Recent performances include Elgar’s Sea Pictures and the Angel in The Dream of Gerontius, alto solos in Handel’s Messiah and a tour of Michael Betteridge’s dramatic cantata Voices of the Sands. Plans for 2023 include Louis Andriessen’s M is for Man, Music, Mozart and Ryan Latimer’s Speaking of Letters and Dancing with Daniele Rosina and University of Birmingham’s New Music Ensemble.