Suzanne Fatta

SINGER and MODEL SUZANNE FATTA

recently won OUTSTANDING PLUS MODEL 2023 at The FFIAs (Full Figure Industry Awards). She continues to be one of the most in-demand arts professionals in WNY since she returned to Buffalo in 2012 after 5 years in England. As a very low Contralto, Suzanne sings Bass with the world-famous Vivaldi's Women choir (dir. Richard Vendome) in Oxford UK, and pioneers the use of low female voices in opera often taking lead Baritone roles in Baroque operas. Harvard-educated, her Lecture-Recitals (selected by OPERA America as one of the top 15 National Opera Week 2014 events in the nation) are sell-out WNY audience favorites. Suzanne is the Founder and Director of The Women of Vivaldi, the only dedicated early music vocal ensemble in WNY, and one of the few true all female choirs - including female Tenors, Baritones and Basses - in the country. She is also the Founder of Pavana Early Music Trio, consisting of voice and historical plucked & strummed instruments.

Ms. Fatta’s operatic roles, consort work and solos have taken her around North America and Europe, performing on top stages in the US, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Malta and more. Suzanne has performed with and been Choral Director for the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra; she also served as both Alto & Tenor Section Leaders with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus & Chamber Singers under the BPO. She is a featured singer in the documentary Peter Ackroyd’s Venice for SkyArts TV across Europe. A highly experienced performer, Suzanne's skills as a Contralto Soloist and Baritone Ensemblist are now in demand in New York; she is currently working with some of the top composers in the country to commission new Contralto repertoire, and to develop world-premiere operas.

Modeling under the name Carmina Suzanne, Ms. Fatta is a published agency plus model and diversity/ disability advocate with top designer, magazine and runway credits including 13 magazine covers, with Getty and Vogue.it credits. Signed to one of the top plus agencies in the world (with representation in Italy, France and the USA), she models in Paris, London, NYC, Toronto, Miami, LA, Berlin, Denmark, Croatia, Santiago and more. She's been featured in campaigns with some of the top plus designers in the industry, and has even worked as Serena Williams' fit model at Burberry in London. In addition, in London she Event Managed/ Produced a number of fashion shows including Curves in Couture, the first plus-only show in British history. Carmina Suzanne continues to campaign tirelessly for plus, mature, petite and disabled models of all colors to be treated fairly in fashion. She is now The Associate Director of Westhaven Management Group, covering thousands of models in dozens of countries.

Very much at home on stage, Ms. Fatta is the Co-Founder of HIDden Theatre, a historical drama troupe started at The York Mystery Plays and debuted at The British Museum. While particularly gifted in Medieval drama and Victorian burlesque, Suzanne's passion for acting ranges through plays, opera and operetta, masked Greek drama, one-woman performance art, voice-overs, commercials and other forms. You may recognize her as the Geico Opera Diva; her local and national TV & radio advert for Geico Careers is a WNY favorite. Fulfilling a life's dream, Suzanne appeared on the TV gameshow Jeopardy! in 2001.

Suzanne is an internationally published author with many academic articles, magazine articles, blogs, poems, fashion reviews, cookbook recipes, interviews and more to her credit. Her company MODAL Productions, a fashion and music mentoring firm specializing in diversity advocacy, was founded in 2014. A devoted Model Scout, Mentor and Manager, Carmina has worked with agencies in the US and UK such as Westhaven Management and ELM London. As an Arts Administrator, Ms. Fatta is Managing Director of Nickel City Opera, and sits on Committees at both the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Board of Vivaldi’s Women. She is a former Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions for the Buffalo/ Toronto Region, Representative of the UK Royal Musical Association, Board of Directors at Nickel City Opera, and Strategic Planning Committee at Vocalis Chamber Choir.

Ms. Fatta holds a dual Bachelors with Honors in Musicology & Vocal Performance, and Religion, from Oberlin College & Conservatory of Music, and trained at the doctoral level in Historical Performance Practice at the Eastman School of Music and the University of York (UK). In addition, she has a Masters in Medieval Studies from Harvard University, where she won a university-wide Teaching Award of Distinction for a Music Department course on Jazz, and held Research, Editorial and Personal Assistantships with the Chair of the Harvard Music Department. She taught in the Music and Religion Departments at Canisius College as well.

Suzanne has been engaged by The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nickel City Opera, Eastman Collegium Musicum, Buffalo Chamber Players, The Women of Vivaldi, June in Buffalo, Ars Nova Musicians/ Viva Vivaldi Fest, Buffalo Master Chorale, Music Niagara, Vocális Chamber Choir, QED, Sotto Voce Vocal Collective, Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus, Camerata di Sant'Antonio, Buffalo Opera Unlimited, Fredonia Bach & Beyond Festival, Rochester Early Music Festival, Opera Sacra, Music Niagara, OperaBuffs of WNY, DIVA by DIVA, and several early music groups in Europe, including Vivaldi’s Women. Delving into the world of jazz and pop, her demo CD Brucia La Terra is available on all streaming platforms, and she is a multi-nominee for Best Jazz Female Vocalist by JazzBuffalo. You can see her perform opera, jazz, pop and standards at cabarets around town, and producing the smash-hit Suzanne Fatta Presents Opera Cabaret at the Bittersweet. Recently, she was the Alto Section Leader at Trinity Episcopal Church, Tenor Section Leader with Buffalo Master Chorale, and a Praise Singer at Prince of Peace Church of God; Suzanne guests at many worship houses throughout WNY.

photo at top by Dana from Adore Studios