This was in 1994. And she was more than ready for the role of Octavian which she had just debuted at the Welsh National Opera in he UK. Since then Octavian has become one in a growing list of signature roles and is one of her favorites. She is one of today's leading Octavians and if Susan Graham doesn't yet own the role, she will very likely do so.

Another favorite signature role is that of The Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, also by Richard Strauss, which she has sung in Munich and Salzburg and will perform again in the 2004 Covent Garden revival of the opera.

Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro rounds out the "trouser roles" around which she has built a stellar career. It quickly became a signature role, after she once pitched in as Cherubino for Fredericka von Stade at the MET to great acclaim.

In the more recent past, she has essayed other "trouser roles:" Ruggiero to Renee Fleming's Alcina (by Georg Fridiric Handel), which they performed to great acclaim in Paris,was a stand-out, as was Idamante in Mozarts' Idomeneo which she sang, also in Paris, in May 2002. Her Sesto in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito has likewise been very well-received. In November 2002, she will sing the lead role in another Handel opera, Ariodante, at the Houston Grand Opera.