This is a banner year for AVA alums in London. Mezzo Nina Yoshida Nelsen is in London to perform the role of Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Royal Albert Hall. It opens on February 24 and runs for nine performances.
This is part of Nina’s re-emergence into the world of opera after the birth of her son, Rhys. She mentioned in a recent blog that, “I'm taking Rhys around with me wherever we go. He's just under 5 months old now and it's quite an amazing experience! My mom is an incredible nanny and is with us here in London. The best part is that when he starts to cry, all I do is sing quietly into his ear and it calms him down...pretty amazing.”
If you can’t get to London to see Nina, she’ll be back in New York City to make her debut at Alice Tully Hall in to sing a concert version of Honneger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake with the Little Orchestra Society.
AVA is no stranger to Royal Albert Hall. Alumna Cristina Nassif sang the title role in Carmen there in 2009. Just a plug for Cristina – she’s off to South Africa to perform the role of Carmen with Opera Africa in Pretoria and Johannesburg. I’m sure AVA resident artist, bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana, a South African native, can tell her where to find the best pizza!
Am I proud, or what? It’s quite a coup to have three AVA alums singing in London at the same time. Nina at the Royal Albert Hall, Bryan Hymel at the Royal Opera House, and Michael Fabiano at the English National Opera.
That’s a triple play!
Just a plug for Cristina which is outside South Africa to play the role of Carmen at the Opera Africa in Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Posted by: דיקור סיני | October 09, 2011 at 04:37 PM