It’s a long way from the New York Met to Birmingham, Alabama. Or, maybe it’s not — if your roots are here. World-renowned opera soprano Susan Patterson has followed her roots back home after years of living all across the country and performing around the world. Susan’s husband, Dennis Altizer, accepted the call to Huffman Baptist Church in Birmingham as music/worship director in January of this year. The couple settled into their Vestavia Hills home in May. Their home will serve as a home base for Susan as she continues to travel and perform several months a year.
Susan was born in Birmingham and made her home in Center Point until she was four years old. Her family moved around the country several times with her father’s job, but they returned to Birmingham during her junior year, and she graduated from Vestavia Hills High School.
When she enrolled in Samford University, she planned to major in piano performance. However, a required voice class brought her to the attention of voice professor Nora Ousley who urged her to develop her vocal talent as well. “I am confident God used her to direct me into opera,” says Susan of the teacher who worked with her on and off for years.
After graduating from Samford with a double major in voice and piano, Susan earned a master’s degree at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Then she had a decision to make. She could accept a teaching job offer in Charlotte, N.C., or pursue doctorate studies at Indiana University.
Meanwhile, in Charlotte, Dennis Altizer faced a similar decision: teach music in Charlotte or study at Indiana University. “Again,” notes Susan, “it was all a ‘God-thing.’ We both chose to study at Indiana. As I stood in line for the ‘cattle-call’ style voice auditions, I noticed the very nervous, slightly green, but cute guy behind me. It was Dennis. And the rest is history.”
At Indiana, Susan had studied under a leading soprano who taught her the Italian bel canto style and urged her to learn the part of Violetta from Verdi’s popular opera, La Traviata. It is still the part she has most often sung and one of her favorites. Susan had studied at Indiana two years when she auditioned for the apprenticeship program of the San Francisco Opera. Only five or six were chosen from the 2,500 who auditioned. Susan was one of them.
The San Francisco Opera launched Susan’s professional career. Since then, she has sung in almost every major opera house in the world, including the famed La Scala in Milan, where she debuted in a title role. Her European appearances also include the Opera-Comique in Paris, the Netherlands Opera, the Cologne Opera, and the English National Opera in London. She appeared in the New York Metropolitan premier of Cappriccio.
Today, she performs frequently with Placido Domingo, both as a singer and a conductor. Currently, Susan is getting ready for another tour. She will guest with the Washington Opera tour of Japan in July.
Opera requires frequent study to uphold one’s talent. Susan has studied great performers and teachers and found fellow believers among them. Licia Albanese, a favorite soprano of the famed conductor Toscanini, once advised her that it is just as important to sing in church as on any great opera stage.
It may seem difficult to reconcile the stereotypical lifestyle of a minister’s wife with Susan’s exciting career. Yet, the Altizers make it work. When she is home, Susan spends as much time as possible with Dennis. She often joins him on ministerial hospital visits. She also loves to rehearse with him. “He is my ears. I trust his opinion implicitly,” she explains. “He sings tenor with me, listens to me and gives me vocal advice. I thank God for him everyday because I know I could not be doing what I am doing without him in my life.”
Dennis adds, “We speak everyday by phone — sometimes two or three times — and our phone bill reflects it.” Dennis travels with Susan whenever possible and especially tries to attend her openings. The Altizers credit their pastor, Tim Lovett, and their church family for allowing him the schedule leeway to do this: “We love our church family,” says Dennis. “They are so accepting of us.”
Susan’s personal ministry is not limited to assisting her husband, however. “My ministry is in opera,” she explains. “I have opportunities other Christians don’t have. The Lord says commit your ways and He will direct your path. It’s a life of faith. I never walk on stage without praying He’ll be first, and I always keep His face before me. You just never know what God is going to do.”
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