Lyric Soprano Suzanne Balaes-Blair most recently performed  Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana with the Sarasota Opera, a company where she has interpreted a variety of Verdi heroines including the title roles in La Traviata, Luisa Miller,  Alice Ford in Falstaff and the rarely performed Alzira. Also in recent seasons, Ms. Balaes-Blair had the opportunity to unveil Mimi with Syracuse Opera and was part of Eugene Opera's 25th anniversary season portraying Floria Tosca. She has been featured in past productions with the New York City Opera including Hansel and Gretel, Carmen and The Magic Flute.

Ms. Balaes-Blair has appeared widely in concert and with opera companies such as the Atlanta Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Dayton Opera, Mobile Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Central City Opera and Harrisburg Opera. She has also performed Marguerite in Faust, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Musetta in La Bohème, Lisette in La Rondine, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Lisa in Pique Dame, Female Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, First Lady in The Magic Flute and the title role in Carlysle Floyd's Susannah.

A native of Long Island, New York and currently residing in Maryland with husband, Ms. Balaes-Blair  received her training from Stony Brook University and the New England Conservatory. She is the recipient of many prestigious awards including, the Venice Opera Guild Artist Grant and the Kern Grant, both from the Sarasota Opera, as well as the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation and the Hyndman Memorial Award given by Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

As a young artist, Ms. Balaes-Blair was a vocal fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center as well as a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has appeared as soloist with numerous symphonies performing works such as Handel's Messiah, Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Britten's Les Illuminations and Mendelssohn's Elijah and most recently, she performed with members of the Cleveland Orchestra in a chamber music series.

Upcoming engagements for Spring 2007 include being a guest artist performing Violetta with the University of Florida Opera Theater.