In the wake of her critically-acclaimed debut as Mrs. De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Susan Graham returns to the recital stage this coming month with three performances spanning the West and East Coasts.

The American mezzo-soprano brings “Frauenliebe und -leben: Variations” — her recital program centered around Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und -leben (“A Woman’s Love and Life”) — to Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre (April 6), Portland’s Lincoln Recital Hall (April 9), and Baltimore’s Shriver Hall (April 23). She is joined at the piano by Malcolm Martineau.

“Frauenliebe und -leben: Variations” augments each song from Schumann’s cycle — which tells a story of love, marriage, and death — with related works by Grieg, Strauss, Fauré, Mahler, Ravel, Debussy, Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, and others, expanding thematically upon the iconic work.