Whether
in concert, opera or recital, soprano Wendy Nielsen enchants audiences
with her sumptuous voice and engaging presence. A native of Canada,
Miss Nielsen has been described as possessing an extraordinarily rich,
vibrant voice and she receives raves for her winning style.
In the 2001/02 season, Wendy Nielsen returns
to the Metropolitan Opera, and sings Donna Anna in Philadelphia Opera's
Don Giovanni, a role she also performs with the Arizona Opera in Phoenix
and Tucson. Under the baton of Ivan Fischer, she sings the role
of Elsa in Act III of Lohengrin at the opening concert of the 2002 Lucerne
Festival with the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
Highlights of recent seasons included the
role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro; her portrayal of Donna
Anna in Don Giovanni at Calgary Opera; concerts with the Windsor Symphony
(Brahms' Requiem); the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Ottawa (Richard
Strauss' Four Last Songs) and the Vancouver Symphony (Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony). She sang in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra and with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa;
performed the role of Countess Almaviva in a semi-staged version of
The Marriage of Figaro at the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest, Jeffrey
Tate conducting, and appeared in solo recitals throughout the U.S. and
Canada.
In the past several seasons, Wendy Nielsen
has had several auspicious debuts, including her Metropolitan Opera
debut in the 1996/97 season as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte (she was
immediately re-engaged for the following season's performances of Carmen,
where she portrayed Micaela). Also in 1996/97, Miss Nielsen made
her Carnegie Hall debut as Emma in a concert of Schubert's Fierrabras
with the Orchestra of St. Luke's. During the 1994/95 season she
garnered much acclaim when she appeared for the first time at New York
City Opera (as Countess Almaviva).
Born in New Brunswick, Canada, Wendy Nielsen received her Bachelor
of Music degree in Voice from the University of Lethbridge, Alberta
in 1984 and her Master of Music degree in Opera from the University
of British Columbia in 1987.
|