MEET THE SOLOIST: Nina Yoshida Nelsen, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen performs Beethoven's Ninth
May 7, 2022 at 8PM

Background:

In 2005, Ms. Nelsen was a national finalist in the prestigious Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition, and she was also a national finalist in the 2006 and 2008 Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. In 2004, Ms. Nelsen won first prize in the Performing Arts Foundation Vocal Competition, the Profant Foundation Vocal Competition, and the Santa Barbara Foundation Vocal Competition. Nina makes her home in Bloomington, Indiana, where she lives with her husband, Jeff, and their sons, Rhys and Blair.

Highlights:

• In the 2021-2022 season, Nina Yoshida Nelsen makes her Boston Lyric Opera debut as Mama Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana. She also makes her Bard Opera debut singing Mother Chen in Huang Ruo’s An American Soldier, with performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center. She then returns to Opera Santa Barbara for a double bill of El Amor Brujo and Frugola in Il Tabarro. Nina makes her Chicago Opera Theater debut singing Queen Sophine in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus. In the spring, she sings Mama in Jack Perla’s An American Dream at Kentucky Opera and the Alto Solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. 
• In the 2019-2020 season, Nina Yoshida Nelsen made her Portland Opera debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She also performed the world premiere of Blood Moon at Prototype Festival in New York City. Nina returned to Chicago Lyric Opera to cover Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and returned to the Santa Barbara Symphony to perform Beethoven's Mass in C. In addition, Ms. Nelsen reprised the role of Khanh in Huang Ruo's Bound at The Juilliard School.
• Other noteworthy recent engagements include: Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette with Opera New Jersey, Rebecca Nurse in The Crucible with Utah Festival Opera, the title role in Carmen and the role of Antonia’s Mother in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Komische Kammeroper of Munich, and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Santa Barbara.

Critical Praise:

• “Singing the role of the Aunt, Nina Yoshida Nelsen was a powerhouse. Her voice and actions convincingly expressed the emotions of abandonment—from anger to sadness to helplessness and loneliness.” Opera Wire
• “As the love sick teenage page Cherubino, mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen was an absolute delight. With a fabulous voice that is gorgeously lyrical and with acting talents to match, she adds much to this production." Deseret News

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