Praised by The Wall Street Journal for her “delicate” and “ideal” title role portrayal in La Calisto at the Glimmerglass Festival,  Filipino-American creative Emilie Kealani Suarez will be originating the role of Mia in the world premiere of Family Style by Meilina Tsui with the New Works Collective at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and debuting the role of Cunegonde in Candide with Curtis Opera Theatre in the upcoming 24/25 season.

 

“Eindringlich gezeichnet und vokal erfüllt” (hauntingly drawn and vocally fulfilled), Emilie made her international debut with Staatsoper Stuttgart singing Jano in their Calixto Bieito revival of  Jenůfa.  Seen in the Soundbites Column of OPERA NEWS, she also received acclaim from them during her first Glimmerglass season for "delivering Musetta's music with absolute accuracy, even in moments of high vivacity. An apprentice with Santa Fe Opera in 2022, she performed in mainstage productions of Carmen, Falstaff and the world premiere of M.Butterfly.  Described as “charmingly sung”, she was showcased in the scenes program as Sophie in the Finale of Der Rosenkavalier and Zerlina in the Act II Sextet of Don Giovanni.  

 

A proud Filipina from San Francisco, she often programs Kundimans, Tagalog love songs, into her recitals in hopes of sharing this exquisite music with a wider audience. Her Grandma was born and raised in Pā'ia, Maui which brings influence of the Hawaiian culture into her identity as well. Self-taught on the traditional ukulele, most of her family danced Hula/Tahitian and played Hawaiian style drums with a halau.  Emilie is the curator of Kapwa, a multi-disciplinary event to bring together the Asian and AAPI community this fall featuring voice, instrumental, cultural fashion pieces, multimedia, and original compositions.  She believes that this will be a necessary and important platform to showcase our creative minds and celebrate our important stories.

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Emilie grew up performing with San Francisco Arts Education Project and Bay Area Vocal Academy.  After earning her high school diploma and Presidential Education Scholar Award at the age of 16, she then obtained her Bachelor of Music degree at The Manhattan School of Music and is a current Master of Music candidate at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music with credits including Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Dalinda in Ariodante, Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw, Vixen* in The Cunning Little Vixen, Poppea* in The Comet/Poppea and Susanna* in Le Nozze di Figaro.

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Emilie has gained recognition from notable organizations.  She received the inaugural Stephen de Maio Memorial Award from The Gerda Lissner Foundation, and holds titles with Opera Mississippi's John Alexander National Vocal Competition, The National Shirley Rabb Winston Competition, Schmidt Undergraduate Awards, Beach Blanket Babylon and National YoungArts Foundation.