William Guanbo Su is heralded by the New York Times for “musical taste, honest execution of Handelian ornaments and bel canto filigree, and a solid voice.”
He has performed at the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and many other major companies across North America and Europe. His roles span the core bass repertoire — from Colline in La bohème and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte to Oroveso in Norma and Garibaldo in Handel’s Rodelinda — and he has become a sought-after interpreter of Baroque music, appearing with the English Concert in Handel’s Hercules on tour through Europe and the United States.
His concert work has taken him to Carnegie Hall, where he made his debut with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and returned for Handel’s Messiah with the same organization. He has also performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh, and appeared in recital at the Sag Harbor Song Festival.
Su’s training reflects the highest levels of the profession. He is a former member of the prestigious Studio of Houston Grand Opera and a former Gerdine Young Artist of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. While a participant in the Académie Vocal Residence at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, he sang with Les Talens Lyriques. He received his Master of Music from The Juilliard School and his Bachelor of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and completed further studies at the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria.
He is a Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Grand Finals winner and has received prizes from the Eleanor McCollum Competition at Houston Grand Opera, the Liederkranz Foundation’s Song/Lieder Competition, and the Gerda Lissner Opera Competition. As an ambassador for Opera for Peace, he has performed in support of that organization’s international advocacy work.
